Taking cognisance of the miseries of about thousands of overseas Pakistanis visiting their families to celebrate Eid with them and the government and private sector employees, including citizens of Pakistan who are rushing to get the money from the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) installed by the banks, the Wafaqi Mohtasib has instructed the State Bank of Pakistan to take appropriate remedial measures.
In a letter issued to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmed Khokhar, Senior Advisor (Law) and Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis has pointed out that it is being observed that the ATMs either do not work or are found out-of-cash. There are frequent complaints against ATMs' poor functioning. Customers using ATMs have been facing many issues including misreporting about the cash; deduction of cash during a transaction but no delivery of cash to the customer, and frequent 'link down', 'ATM is out of order' or 'your bank failed to respond' messages. It is commonly observed that ATMs stop working during the first week of each month.
Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmed Khokhar, Senior Advisor (Law) and Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis, asked the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan issue instructions to all banks of Pakistan and to take remedial measures for local and Overseas Pakistanis for ensuring the availability of cash and security in all ATM of banks during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays throughout Pakistan. He directed that special teams may be deputed for inspection and compliance of State Bank's instructions on the subject in the public interest.-PR