LAHORE: A spokesman for the Sharif family claimed on Friday that the Ittefaq Group had paid the mark-up on a loan it had obtained from a consortium of banks.

The Lahore High Court had directed on Thursday the Ittefaq Group to pay mark-up of Rs3.5 billion on a petition filed by a lawyer of the consortium comprising National Bank of Pakistan and other financial institutions.

The spokesman said the factual position was that all banks had been repaid hundred percent of the loan’s required amount, and, in fact, these industrial units had themselves approached the court to ensure entire loan payment to all banks.

He said it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that any family or industrial unit had returned its complete loan, along with its markup, without getting it waived at all.

Published in Dawn, November 8th , 2014