As Pakistan celebrates another Independence Day, it is worth taking a few moments to reflect not only on the country’s political journey, infrastructure and social development, but also on the institutions that have quietly supported its economic progress. Among these, the banking sector has a particularly important story to tell. Since 1947, Pakistan’s banking system has evolved from a severely disrupted and limited financial infrastructure into a more sophisticated, technology-driven and increasingly inclusive sector. This transformation reflects the country’s broader journey of institution-building, reform and adaptation. Today, banking is no longer simply about deposits, loans and branches; it is increasingly…
Author: Dr. Sahar Munir and Dr. Hammad Badar
Federal Shariah Court declares interest-based practices incompatible as Islamic banking assets grown dramatically Islamic finance, founded on Shariah principles, began to take shape in the modern era roughly eight to nine decades ago. Its global prominence surged after the oil boom of the 1970s in the Middle East, when newly accumulated wealth sought financial systems aligned with Islamic values. One of the earliest modern experiments was the Mit Ghamr Savings Bank in Egypt, established in 1963, often regarded as the first practical model of contemporary Islamic banking. In Pakistan, early discussions on interest-free finance date back to the 1950s, but…