ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (APP):Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik Tuesday informed the National Assembly that the government is committed to promote Islamic banking in the country.
In response to a Calling Attention Notice in the House, he said that the government plans to launch new Shariah-compliant certificates worth Rs 50 billion under Islamic Finance this month.
He explained that two schemes under the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) were launched in July 2023, involving Rs 70 billion in instruments, though these schemes were later suspended.
The minister highlighted that Islamic financial instruments are asset-backed, with certificates issued against tangible assets. In 2023, certificates worth Rs 80 billion were issued against assets such as the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway and Islamabad Metro.
He said that the government has identified new assets valued at Rs 1,000 billion and has secured the necessary approvals to proceed. Consequently, Shariah-compliant certificates worth Rs 50 billion will be issued this month.
The minister also reported a 30 percent increase in Islamic banking accounts and announced plans to issue
new certificates based on the recently identified assets.
