THIS is with reference to the letter of Mr Abdul Samad Halepoto appearing in your newspaper on July 26.

To put the record straight, our Dadu branch was badly burnt during the violence that broke out in the aftermath of the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

It was refurbished temporarily as no alternative space was available to shift the branch as it holds the SBP currency chest for the district of Dadu. Meanwhile the bank kept looking for alternative premises keeping in view the specific requirements of a chest branch.

Immediately after acquiring a suitable alternative space, we shifted the branch much before the reported incident.

It was during the process of demolition that some rubble fell on the labourers engaged by the contractor for demolishing the structure and a valuable life was lost, not because of the caving in of the roof.

As for services, appreciation of senior government functionaries for the services rendered by the bank is very much on record.

It would be pertinent to mention that the strongroom accommodating the SBP currency chest is intact.

FATEH M. SHAHAB KAZI
Head of Media Marketing & PR
Karachi