WITHIN a span of a few days, I faced embarrassment twice because of being a loyal customer of the National Bank of Pakistan. As street crimes are rampant in Karachi, I do not carry more than a few thousand rupees in cash, relying heavily on my NBP ATM card.

A few days ago I was buying some clothes at Tariq Road. I was short of a few thousand rupees in cash. I went to the nearest One-Link ATM machine to withdraw the desired amount.

After a few minutes of struggle, the machine showed a message on the screen that my bank is not responding. To my utter embarrassment, I had to regret to the cashier of the clothing store and return the stuff.

A similar incident happened when my car broke down and I had to get it fixed from a nearby car mechanic shop.

I was again short of cash. As the mechanic was working on my car, I went to the nearest One-Link ATM machine and found that I could not withdraw cash for the same reason.

M. Khalid Shaikh
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2014