The court ruled that the federal government and provincial governments must alter relevant laws and publish directives by December 2027 to ensure that the country’s banking system should be interest-free. The ruling added that “elimination of Riba from our economic system is our religious as well as our constitutional duty; hence it has to be eliminated from Pakistan.”
On June 30, 1990, the first petition for the termination of the country’s interest-based banking system was submitted to the FSC. Dr Tanzeelur Rehman, the then-chief judge of the FSC, convened a three-member bench to issue a decision on the matter on November 14, 1991, with a deadline of April 30, 1992, for its execution. For the past 19 years, a case challenging the interest rate system had been ongoing at the Shariat Court. Since nine chief justices of the FSC have served out their tenure, the case remained unresolved until today’s announcement.
MUHAMMAD USAMA SHOAIB
RAHIM YAR KHAN
