“Rs 5,000 note ban to curb corruption and inflation”

• Senator Aziz moves resolution in Upper House to ban Rs 5,000 note.
• “Rs 5,000 note is a cause of corruption and inflation,” the senator claims.
• Senator Waleed Iqbal calls for promotion of digital payments.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz has called for a halt to the Rs 5,000 note in a bid to end “corruption and slack inflation”.

Senator Aziz tabled the resolution in the Upper House of Parliament on Monday, calling for a ban on the supreme doctrine which he said contributes to corruption, terrorism and smuggling.

“Rs 5,000 notes are the cause of corruption and inflation in the country. It is also used in terrorist and corruption activities,” the senator said during the debate.

He said till date Rs 5000 notes worth Rs 3.5 trillion have been issued. Of which, he said, Rs 5,000 notes worth Rs 2 trillion were not in circulation and kept in “safe deposit”.

“These are proceeds from money laundering, tax evasion and smuggling, which have been blocked,” the deputy argued.

He said a limited period of time should be given to deliver the higher denomination.

Another PTI senator Waleed Iqbal joined his fellow MP’s call to ban the Rs 5000 note, saying digital payments should be promoted to reduce currency circulation.

Responding to the senator’s claims, Acting Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said Rs 905 million worth of Rs 5,000 notes have been issued so far and added that Rs 4.5 trillion are currently in circulation.

Solangi said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was operating according to its laws and the previous government had granted “excessive” autonomy to the central bank.

It is not the first time that an official has blamed the higher currency for the increase in corruption.

In September this year, former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Shabbar Zaidi insisted that the discontinuation of Rs 5,000 notes and curbing the physical movement of dollars is the key to curbing the cash economy in the country.

Zaidi argued that currency circulation is very high in Pakistan and Rs 5,000 note provides comfort in the cash economy, adding that people have kept wealth in their lockers in dollars and Rs 5,000 notes, which should be banned.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) had refuted reports of an alleged ban on the use, possession and circulation of Rs 5,000 currency notes, following a fake circular on the letterhead of the Finance Directorate. social media.