Speakers at a seminar said that State Bank of Pakistan should develop a new policy instrument to take care of the financial needs of the small businesses. They said that phenomenal growth of 20-25 percent was witnessed in the world Islamic Banking system. These views were expressed by them in the second National Islamic Microfinance Conference jointly organised by the State Bank of Pakistan, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) and Farz Foundation.
They also said that we need skilled people in the Islamic micro-finance industry and suggested that Wafaqul-Madaris should induct Islamic microfinance as a subject so that after studying Islamic finance they would be helpful in guiding the banks who are working in this sector.
Speaking on the occasion Chairman Punjab Halal Development Agency Justice (Retd) Khalil-ur-Rehman said that a Riba-free economic system should be developed in the country. He said that now-a-days European banks are opening Islamic banking windows in the branches of their banks adding that in this system there in a 95 % return rate of the loan. Head of International Programs and Marketing Center for Advance Islamic Economics Raza Ali Sheikh said that since 2002, the market share of Islamic Banking in Pakistan has increased by 8% and by the year 2014 it is expected that the share of Islamic banking will be 12%.
Regional Manager Cooperate (Central) Pak Qatar Family Takaful Limited Tariq Saeed Chaudhry in his address discussed the risks in Islamic Banking and how we mitigate the risk factors in this sector. Manager operations Kashf Foundations Mumtaz Iqbal said that by January 2013 Kashf Bank will introduce Islamic microfinance windows as a pilot project in some branches in Lahore and after that they will introduce this system in all 157 branches of the country.
Vice Chancellor UVAS Dr Talat Naseer Pasha said that micro-finance is a valuable tool to reduce poverty in Pakistan as its 17 per cent population is currently living below the poverty-line. "The concept of microfinance in livestock is a novel initiative for poverty alleviation,"
Professor Pasha said that the livestock sector had huge economic potential and it had turned the wheel of the national economy in the way of progress. Livestock contributed over 55 per cent of the agricultural GDP and 12 per cent of the national GDP last year, added the vice-chancellor. He said that during the recent Eidul Azha celebrations, the banks had Rs 450 billion transactions, which mostly the people had spent on the purchase of sacrificial animals. He said that 4.5 million small and 7 million large animals had been slaughtered on Eidul Azha and it clearly showed the importance of the livestock sector.
The vice-chancellor said that small-scale rural and peri-urban smallholdings with 2-3 animals are producing over 90 % of the milk. "These animals form a part of the property, possessions and profession of the rural farmers. Not only that, they are an easily 'convertible currency' and a reliable 'living bank' to serve the immediate needs of the rural masses in several communities but also play an important multifunctional role that is associated with a significant contribution of the livelihood systems," the VC added.
He lauded the role of the Farz Foundation in the livestock sector and said that the 'Farz livestock model' can help revive the agricultural sector in the wake of the challenging economic environment. Project Director Dairy and Rural Development Foundation Jack Moser, CEO Akhawat Dr Amjad Saqib, Member Provincial Assembly Humaria Awais Shahid, renowned journalist Ajmal Niazai and CEO Farz Foundation Farhat Abbas Shah, also spoke on the occasion.