This was the consensus developed at a seminar jointly organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Al-Baraka Islamic Bank here on Tuesday.
Governor Punjab Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd) was scheduled to be the chief guest but he could not attend it because of the arrival of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Indian Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh in the City. The seminar was presided over by the former LCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar.
LCCI President Mian Shafqat Ali, Vice President Aftab Ahmad Vohra, Honorary Consul of Britain Faqir Syed Ijazud Din, Mian Mohammad Idrees of Sitara Chemical Industry, Professor Khalid Zaheer of LUMS, LCCI Convener on Banking Nauman Kabir, Maulvi Hassan Kaleem and Regional General Manager Albaraka Islamic Bank also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various aspects of the Islamic mode of financing.
Anjum Nisar maintained that growth of Islamic banking system could be gauged from the fact that in the year 2003 the total assets of Islamic banks were Rs12.90 billion while in the year 2004 the same reached Rs44 billion which was enough to prove the success of the system. The deposits of the Islamic banks also surged by Rs 22.10 billion in the same period, he added.
The introduction of the first Islamic bond 'Sukuk' also went to the credit of President of Pakistan who had been doing more than lip service in implementing Islamic banking.
Speaking on the occasion the LCCI President Mian Shafqat Ali said that today more than 250 Islamic financial institutions were operating world-wide from China to USA managing funds to the tune of US dollars 200 billion. Western banks through their Islamic units in UK, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg etc were also practising Islamic banking.
Maulvi Hassan Kaleem, Mian Idrees, Faqir Syed Ijazuddin and Professor Khalid Zaheer shared their experiences with the participants by throwing light on various aspects of Islamic mode of financing.