Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that since the government was cash-strapped there was no way to keep money in banks. He said that Mufti Taqi Usmani had recommended placing money in Islamic banks for safekeeping. He said that spending more on expenses than income was a serious problem.
Islam had prohibited interest and they were resolved to end interest based system as it was pivotal for the country
He said that they had welcomed the decision of Shariah Court and avoiding the interest was very important for the country. He added that Islamic banking system has achieved great milestones in past 10 years and increased by more than 10 times during the time.
He said that Islamic banking could ensure transparent transactions and it was necessary to take Pakistan out of economic turmoil by implementing of Islamic banking.
Addressing the seminar on end of interest based system in the country he said that he was not in the country when the decision of end of interest system was announced but he had decided to bring the system to an end as first priority.
He further said that financial system of a country was important for economic growth and banking system had become base of modern era. He said that Islamic banking was successful on Pakistan and it should be activated through proper way.
Finance Minister said that Islamic banking had assets worth five billion and a private Islamic bank has increased its branches from 100 to 1,000 in nine years.
A seminar for end of interest based system in Pakistan was held in Karachi.
Many religious personalities and economists including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Mufti Taqi Usmani participated in the seminar.
