‘Speaker refers loan issues to NA panel’

This is apropos a Business Recorder news item “Speaker refers loan issues to NA panel” carried by the newspaper on March 3, 2018.

I had written an article titled “Written-off loans” in your newspaper of April 16, 2011 when the Supreme Court had formed a Commission to look into the same matter. I had mentioned that it would be a futile exercise as most of the cases might have since been settled and securities released by banks I had suggested that the SC may like to focus on the pending court cases which at that time were reportedly 56,000 (now 50,000).

The Commission was formed but the matter still remains unresolved despite elapse of considerable time and expenses. Now after seven years, this issue is again taken up.

I belonging to the financial sector would, therefore, once again like to reiterate that we should not waste our time and energy in carrying out such futile exercises instead the courts be urged to expedite decisions regarding the referred 50,000 cases pending adjudication at different courts. This action would be more result-oriented.

Needless to mention that inordinate delay in giving decisions by courts is an important factor over which loan write-offs are preferred by banks in order to get the delinquent accounts reduced in a short period of time.

Karachi S. Faiq Husain