Finance Minister vows to promote Islamic finance system in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has vowed to promote Islamic finance and eliminate interest based system in Pakistan in true spirit within five years.

He was chairing the First Steering Committee meeting in Islamabad today on implementation of Federal Shariat Court’s judgment on Riba.

The Finance Minister urged upon all the stakeholders to work with commitment, sincerity and understanding to overcome all the hurdles in way of implementation of interest free system as already 21 per cent of banks enjoy Islamic banking system.

The Finance Minister emphasized to include professional experts on Islamic laws in the committees and also seek guidance of Ulema and Islamic intellectuals into launching of additional Islamic Sukuk bonds.

Ishaq Dar appreciated Governor State Bank of Pakistan for his sincere efforts in making roadmap for implementation of Islamic financing and interest free system. He also expressed satisfaction on SBP and NBP for withdrawing appeals in the Supreme Court against the judgment of Federal Shariat Court and paving the way for its implementation.

Earlier, Governor State Bank informed the meeting that five working groups had been formed to overcome the technical issues, getting recommendations and deciding on way forward for fully implementation of the Islamic financing.

Last year in November, Ishaq Dar has asserted that the federal government was committed to promote Islamic Banking in Pakistan and several steps were being taken with the cooperation of all the stakeholders.

Addressing a seminar at Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the finance minister assured that the government was committed to truly implement Federal Shariah Court’s (FSC) verdict on full conversion of conventional banking system into Islamic one; with deadline of December 2027.

The seminar was attended by Government representatives, Ulema from different schools of thought, business community leaders, bankers, researchers, academics and media persons.

Ishaq Dar also announced to set up Islamic Finance Wing under his ministry within a week for fast working on the implementation of FSC verdict on Islamic banking.