World shifting to interest-free Islamic banking: Khattak

KARACHI

Terming Islamic banking as the future of global financial system, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak on Saturday rejected the impression that the making of a forward bloc was in the offing within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Talking to reporters at a conference on Islamic banking held at a hotel by the Bank of Khyber (BoK) to celebrate 10th anniversary of its Raast Islamic Banking, the chief minister said his government was not threatened by the party issue that now stood resolved.
Others attended the event were KP Finance Minister Sirajul Haq, State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmad, BoK MD Imran Samad and representatives of SECP, FPCCI, KCCI, OICCI, banks and other financial institutions concerned.
Khattak said the PTI members concerned had met PTI Chairman Imran Khan who had allied their concerns positively. He was outright in denying that there was any forward bloc in the PTI.
Earlier, he told the gathering that even the non-Muslim countries were gradually doing away with the prevailing interest-based global financial system. Well illustrated, he said, was London which had become the largest hub for Islamic banking with $ 3 billion investment.
Talking of politics, the chief minister said the PTI-led coalition government in KP was ready to hold local bodies’ election in the province as the required legislation to devolve the governance system to grass-root had been enacted. He said his government had introduced 45 new laws (acts) in health, police, education, police and other key departments during last 10 months of its rule to end corruption and improve public services in the province.
Showing complete distrust in National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Khattak said the KP government tended to introduce a provincial Ehtisab Commission within a month time to rid the province of the menace of corruption. He said the commission would act independently sans any political or bureaucratic interference.
The chief minister said the PTI and JI coalition government was determined to reform different walks of life ranging from police to healthcare department to help the province witness human development. The PTI leader challenged other provinces to compete his province in terms of quality of public services.
Vowing to bring a grass-root level change in KP, Khattak said the local body laws would ensure non-interference by the government in the affairs of district or village councils.
Sirajul Haq said the KP government would keep supporting Islamic banking in the province and added that his government was making efforts to rid the country of “exploitative” conventional banking system.
After the collapse of communism, Haq said the world was now looking for a new economic system that was sans exploitation. “Only Islam can ensure such a pure financial setup,” he added.
The finance minister also urged the Islamic banking experts to explore new products before the expected influx of customers towards the Shariah-compliant system.
The SBP deputy governor said Islamic finance was all set to become a better alternative to the conventional banking.
Dubbing Islamic finance as one of fastest growing segments of the global as well as domestic financial sectors, Saeed said the global financial crisis in 2008-09 had made western financial experts to look for an alternative under which the international financial system could overcome the weaknesses of the conventional system based on fixed predetermined return in the form of interest.
“A lot of attention was focused on solutions which are not far from the Islamic financing where system allows fairness of return, sharing of risk and reducing income inequalities,” he added.
“Islamic Banking industry starting from almost a scratch in 2001… is growing at an impressive rate of over 30 percent annually for last 5 years,” the deputy governor said.