Is it possible for Pakistan to shift to an interest-free banking system?

Pakistan will implement the decision of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) to rid the country of an interest-based banking system, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, but many are questioning whether it will be possible to do it at all. The FSC was established in Pakistan in 1980 under the reign of military dictator Ziaul Haq and is responsible “to examine and decide the question whether or not any law or provision of law is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam”. The court ruling prohibiting interest came earlier this year in April, giving the government up until Dec 31, 2027 to eliminate Riba, the Islamic term for interest, from the country’s banking system. The court also ruled that any interest on government borrowings, whether from domestic or foreign sources, also fell under the definition of Riba and was prohibited under Islamic law.