KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has started to build its capacity to effectively deal with any adverse situation and resume operations without any major interruption.

SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra said this on Monday while speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of Safety and Security Week 2017 being organised at the central bank in which field experts will conduct a number of exercises, trainings and information sessions to educate employees of the SBP and SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC) about necessary safety and security procedures.

Mr Wathra said emergency preparedness and comprehensive arrangements for business continuity planning are essential for the corporate world in a fast-changing, highly vulnerable environment to ensure operational sustainability of institutions. “We take pride that the SBP has come a long way towards the development of business continuity field in order to deal with the full spectrum of threats,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of safety and security, the governor said that a safe and secure workplace environment plays a vital role in ensuring smooth operations of an institution.

He said the central bank has fulfilled its regulatory responsibility and issued guidelines for all banks to strengthen the overall resilience of the financial sector.

The SBP also invited speakers representing the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Sindh and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. CPLC representative Mr Ozair stated that his organisation is working to eradicate crimes by bridging the gap between citizens and law enforcement agencies.

Dr Rizwana Wasif of the Red Crescent Society demonstrated how to provide first-aid in emergency whereas Syed Salman Shah representing the PDMA spoke about roles and responsibilities of the PDMA in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017