August 05, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 2, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 4: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted a three-member committee presumably to improve its liaison with commercial banks in public and private sector and secure jobs and easy loans for the Kashmiris, commensurate with their deposits in these financial institutions.

“The government is pleased to form a committee in the light of a cabinet decision of May 21 to review the existing procedure of banks and propose a comprehensive policy and procedure to evolve an effective and efficient system,” said an S&GAD notification, with slipshod wording.

The committee is headed by minister for finance Raja Nisar Ahmed Khan and includes chief secretary and secretary finance as members. Secretary finance will also be the committee's secretary though the notification referred to him too as chairman, ostensibly due to a typographical mistake.

According to the notification, the government had also “ordered that banks should provide facilities/relief to the local people especially in the shape of employment and soft loaning.”

The banks do not fall under the administrative control of the AJK government and issuing them “orders” through a gazette notification has taken many in the official hierarchy by surprise.

However, when contacted by Dawn on Monday, the finance minister said that regardless of the wording of the notification the fact was that the banks were not offering any kind of social services in AJK and the committee was detailed to look into this and many other relevant issues and get them addressed.

“The deposits by the Kashmiris in the Pakistani banks stand to the tune of Rs121 billion and its benefit must pass on to our state and our people which is not happening at the moment,” he said.

“We want banks to facilitate the people in this region and simplify their procedures for loaning and also lessen the ratio of markup,” he added. The committee, he said, would begin its task within a week.