Ishaq Dar says Pakistan can be interest-free in 5 years
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said that Pakistan could become interest-free in five years as he urged the banking sector to move towards and promote Islamic banking. He expressed the views while addressing a seminar at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Karachi where speakers spoke at length about interest-free banking. In April, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) had declared the prevailing interest-based banking system as against the Sharia and directed the government to facilitate all loans under an interest-free system. The court had ruled that the federal government and provincial governments must amend relevant laws and issued directives that the country’s banking system should be free of interest by December 2027. Commercial banks and the central bank had subsequently filed an appeal before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the FSC verdict.