Islamabad: The Supreme Court (SC) has directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to remove any obstacles that hinder the transfer of donations made by overseas Pakistanis for the dam fund, according to a news source. The apex court also instructed the premier bank to submit a report on the matter in the next case hearing – scheduled to take place in four weeks’ time.
The verdict was given by the court’s five-member bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed – who was hearing a case on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
Justice Ahmed said that while overseas Pakistanis are eager to contribute to the dam fund, the banks were not collecting the donations. He asked the SBP to look into the complaints. He also made a mention of the reports on ‘huge amount’ of donations made by overseas Pakistanis that haven’t been transferred to Pakistan.
The SC bench directed the SBP and all other banks in Pakistan to remove the obstacles causing hurdles in the transfer of money and bring the amount back. Justice Gulzar also said that despite the directive of the SC, the private banks weren’t collecting donations for dams.
The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) shared a record of investments with the SC on investments made by the banks using donations submitted in the dam fund. The NBP is expected to reap a profit from the PKR 12 billion sum collected in the dam fund by February 2020.
