KARACHI: Corporate Pakistan Group (CPG) has appreciated the timely move by the federal government for withdrawing appeals against the Federal Shariat Court’s (FSC) decision of Islamic Banking and said that switching of the banking system to Islamic Instruments will strengthen the economy.

The Ministry of Finance has recently announced the withdrawal of all the appeals against the Federal Shariat Court’s verdict. This decision will serve as the cornerstone for the country’s financial system to shift to interest-free banking by 2027.

Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder of Corporate Pakistan Group, and Former Minister of State & Chairman, the Board of Investment (BoI) has said that the announcement by the Ministry of Finance has paved the way for Pakistan to undergo complete conversion to Islamic Banking.

“This is a great milestone in the financial history of Pakistan. I look forward to the unshackling of the interest-laden debt systems and I am confident that this will lead to greater financial inclusion of the unbanked population, who are hesitant to be a part of the conventional economic system. With this transformation, Pakistan will be on its way towards an inclusive socio-economic development”, he added.

Ahsan was of the view that the implementation of Islamic Financial Instruments (IFIs) is the best way forward for a country like Pakistan that is crippled by the sheer burden of the mountain of debt and associated, ever-increasing, payments that seem to be permanent feature on the horizon. The entrepreneurial potential of Pakistan is huge and IFIs, being Riba-free, hold great promise to surely translate that into economic success, he added.

He further said that the new financial system will evolve into an inclusive and sustainable ecosystem and its core strength of Shariah compliance will ensure progress with prosperity.

Ahsan also supported the low-risk, high-stability, and Shariah-compliance features of IFIs as a great opportunity for Pakistan’s developing economy and hailed the decision by the government in this regard.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022