Getting rid of Ribah: Court seeks legislation to end interest-based trade

The court also ordered the regularisation of 250 Frontier Foundation Education (FFE) teachers.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government to pass necessary legislation to end ‘Ribah’ or interest-based trade.

A division bench headed by PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Qaisar Rashid issued the orders while hearing a suo motu notice on increasing interest-based practices by businesses in the province.

The bench termed ‘Ribah’ as the main cause for all misdeeds in society and observed people were compelled to sell their daughters to pay back interest on loans. The bench said such businesses must be uprooted.

Additional Advocate General Naveed Akhtar informed the court a bill was ready to be tabled in the previous provincial assembly, but could not be passed before the erstwhile government’s term ended. The court later gave a final warning to the provincial government to pass the required legislation.

In a separate case, the court ordered the regularisation of 250 Frontier Foundation Education (FFE) teachers. The order came while hearing petitions filed by Saira Naaz and 249 others.

The counsel for petitioners, Ejaz Anwar, said the PHC had earlier ordered regularisation of 80 FFE teachers, but the FFE administration was employing delaying tactics. He added the FFE administration had also approached the apex court against the orders, but the Supreme Court upheld the high court’s decision.

Anwar requested the court to order the regularisation of his clients. The bench observed if a provision in law facilitates one employee, it should also facilitate others and directed the concerned department to regularise all petitioners.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2013.