February 19, 2002	Tuesday	Zilhaj 6, 1422

KARACHI, Feb 18: State-run Habib Bank has got the State Bank permission for setting up a branch in Kabul, bank’s president Zakir Mahmood told Dawn.

“We have got the permission from SBP and now we have to seek the consent of the central bank of Afghanistan,” he said. “We have requested the ministry of finance to help us get permission from Bank Milli (Afghanistan’s central bank).”

An SBP official said HBL was allowed in principle to open a branch in Kabul but the specifics are yet to be presented and approved.

Pakistan has decided to open at least three bank branches in Afghanistan—one each in Herat, Jalalabad and Kabul — and Afghanistan is to reciprocate by opening three bank branches—one each in Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. An understanding to this regard was reached between Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Afghan counterpart Hidayat Amin Arsala at a recent meeting in Washington.

Zakir Mahmood said if his bank got the permission for Kabul branch and the new branch worked satisfactorily, HBL would also like to open branches in Herat and Jalalabad.

The state-run HBL has a network of 52 branches and two representative offices in 25 countries.