KARACHI: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that interest may be abolished in the country in 5 years.
Ishaq Dar while addressing a seminar titled Hurmate-e-Sood organized by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Makraz Al-e-Economy-e-Islami in Karachi said that earning money through interest becomes easy but it not permissible.
He said that the prevailing system of interest in the country should be abolished, if we sincerely decide for the pleasure of Allah, interest can be abolished in the country in 5 years, the system of zakat and usher should be adopted.
The finance minister said that in the previous government, my finance secretary had instructions that the first priority for borrowing was to borrow through Islamic bonds sukuk. I want to abolish the prevailing system of interest, may Allah have such a magic that I can abolish interest in a week, in a month, but there is a state business in which interest has been going on for 75 years.
Ishaq Dar said that he welcomes the decision of the Sharia court to end the interest system, 20 to 21 percent of the banking system in the country is already Islamic banking, there is an effort to implement the Islamic banking system completely in 5 years. Islamic banking system is to be introduced as a successful system in Pakistan.
The Finance Minister said that I was concerned about two government institutions, the State Bank and the National Bank had filed an appeal against the decision of the Federal Sharia Court, those appeals have been withdrawn.
He further said that the government should keep money in Islamic banking, it is not there to keep money, the government is running on loans.
