KARACHI: President of the Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Ismail Suttar has deeply regretted the PML-N Governrment’s decision to shift State Bank’s four departments to Lahore terming it totally unjustified. In a statement Ismail said that no one from business and industrial community would welcome this decision of the PML-N government as there is no justification for that. “The government does not have even one good reason to move centaral bank’s four strategic departments to any other place as Karachi is being the largest business, commercial, industrial and financial hub and international sea port and airport are located in this city”, Ismail said adding that moving four departments would disintegrate the central bank and adversely affect its performance. He said that none of the SBP’s high ups has consented to shift any of its departments to any other place and opined that it would badly affect the bank’s performance.
He warned that disturbing an autonomous organization that makes its country’s monetary policies and has closed interaction with the trade and financial circles thus it has nothing to with the bureaucracy.
He pointed out that State Bank of Pakistan’s headquarter remained in Karachi since Pakistan’s inception and even when the capital of country was shifted to Islamabad in 60s, the SBP’s headquarter continued to operate from Karachi as the decision makers, at that point, were wise enough to realize the significance of this crucial port city that also has head offices of over 98 percent banks and financial institutes as well.
Referring to the remarks of Manzoor Wassan who recently opposed the transfer of SBP’s departments to Lahore said that the business and industrial community of Karachi supports Sindh government’s stance and fully rejects the transfer of SBP’s departments to Lahore.
He said that the business and industrial community of Karachi has been facing immense difficulties because of sheer negligence from the Federal government towards the issues of Karachi and such decisions would further intensify the hardships for them. “It will start from shifting four departments and result in transferring the entire SBP headquarter to Lahore, which will be a sheer injustice to the business and industrial community of Karachi”, he feared.
“How can the federal government even think of transferring four major departments of State Bank to Lahore regardless of the fact that all head offices of banks, financial institutions, multinational companies and Large Scale Manufacturing Units etc. are based in Karachi whereas the two major ports which cater to the needs to entire Pakistan are also situated in Karachi”, he asked.
He waned the federal government not to come into the trap of bureaucracy and stop doing injustices with business and industrial community of Karachi and refrain from taking such anti-business steps which will surely prove to be detrimental and counterproductive for the economy keeping in view the enormous role and substantial contribution being made by Karachi in the overall economic development of Pakistan.