State Bank unveils 50 defaulters
ISLAMABAD: “Those who had their loans written off have built empires. If they don’t pay back the loans, their names should be put on the exit control list (ECL) and they be put behind bars,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Wednesday while hearing a suo motu case regarding the Rs54 billion bad loans.
The State Bank’s counsel, Iqbal Haider, produced a list of 50 companies and individuals who had their loans waived before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court.
Barrister MS Baqir apprised the court that Indus Sugar, a company owned by former parliamentarian and chief whip of the PML-Q Nasrullah Dareshak, had Rs820 million in loans written off through eight different banks upon which, the court summoned Dareshak to the court on Wednesday.
“Isn’t the new State Bank governor interested in getting the money back?” Justice Ramday questioned, in response to which Iqbal Haider said that he would convey the court’s concerns.
“Do you still want to defend the written-off loans or do you want to get the money back?” the chief justice asked Haider to which Haider submitted that he was only defending the the State Bank’s circular.
“You have a very effective law available. We are here to assist you in getting the money back, but the State Bank hasn’t come forward,” the chief justice observed.