DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | May 03, 2024

Published 11 Nov, 2016 11:24am

PPP senator calls for withdrawal of Rs1,000, Rs5,000 notes to fight corruption

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Osman Saifullah Khan on Thursday submitted a resolution in the Senate to withdraw Rs1,000 and Rs5,000 rupee notes from circulation.

Addressing the upper house, the Senator, addressing a standing committee on finance said that high denomination notes raise the possibility of money laundering and corruption in the country.

Referring to India as an example, he added that the world over such notes were being discouraged.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 Indian rupee notes from circulation on Tuesday in a dramatic blitz on tax evasion. After Modi's shock announcement, ATMs in India ran dry and stocks tumbled Wednesday.

Read more: Six questions on India's rupee shake-up

In India, banks and cash machines were ordered to close on Wednesday in preparation for the turnaround, triggering a late night rush by customers to withdraw smaller notes from ATMs.

Customers were told they were able to exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them into their accounts but face the prospect of major scrutiny by tax authorities if they could not account for a sudden swell in their balance.

While the move was praised by business leaders and commentators, Indian stocks plunged 6 per cent in early trade ─ a fall also partially attributed to uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump's surprise strong showing in the US election.

Commentators warned the markets would react negatively to Modi's shock move.

Senator Osman Saifullah Khan said that the issue of withdrawal of currency notes should be taken up with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.

Read Comments

Pakistan's 'historic' lunar mission to be launched on Friday aboard China lunar probe Next Story