Some sections of the State Bank of Pakistan will be shifted from Karachi to Lahore in due course of time. The move bares the similarity to the mindset of the self-proclaimed Field Marshall Ayub Khan who, for no apparent reason, shifted the capital of the country from Karachi to Islamabad. Millions of tax payer money, majority of which came from East Pakistan, was wasted in the development of Islamabad when people were dying because of poverty, hunger and natural calamities.
Similarly, the State Bank of Pakistan was inaugurated by the Quaid, in Karachi and the shift to Lahore only confirms the view that the government focuses all development in Punjab, particularly Lahore. The building of the M2 motorway, rom Lahore to Islamabad, was done after sacrificing a vast area of fertile land which led to the question of the logic behind it. IT entailed, at that moment to the people, that in the future historical sites may then also be moved to Punjab which was absurd.
The decision to move some of the branches from Karachi to Lahore must immediately be reverted back as it promotes provincialism. The SBP is not only the main financial institution of the country, but has historical importance, as it was inaugurated by the Quaid.
AAMIR AQIL,
Lahore, November 16.