A four day long workshop on “Elimination of Riba in Pakistan: role of the constitutional institutions” organized by Shari‘ah Academy of the International Islamic University (IIU) concluded here at Faisal Masjid Campus on Thursday.
As many as 250 participants hailing from various institutions including PhD scholars, officials from legal fraternity, banking sector, while 12 nominated participants from State Bank of Pakistan participated in the workshop in which around 20 renowned economists, Islamic scholars, researchers and intellectuals delivered lectures and joined panel discussions.
Speaking as a chief guest in the concluding ceremony of the workshop, Prof. Dr. Ayaz Afsar, Vice President (Academics) said that no society can be called a pure Muslim society until all forms of exploitations like Riba and corruption from its economic and financial system have been eliminated. He opined that the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss and comprehend the challenges and hurdles faced in the elimination of Riba from the economy of Pakistan. He added that it also allowed the participants to suggest some practical steps to achieve the goals of Riba free economy. Highlighting the role of IIUI in Riba free Pakistani economy, the IIU Vice President said that the university, since its inception, has been contributing through research in the shape of books, thesis and by organizing workshops, seminars, and symposia on the issue of Riba . He added that the research scholars of the university have assisted the courts in Riba cases and it was the first university that stared post-graduate and Ph.D programs in Islamic banking, Islamic finance and Muslim commercial laws. He congratulated the academy on successfully conducting a valuable workshop.
On the occasion, Dr. Abdul Hai Abro, Director General (Shari‘ah Academy) in his vote of thanks said that the academy is focused to hold such constructive activities frequently to achieve its goals and objectives. He said the papers presented in the workshop will be compiled in the shape of a booklet and recommendations of the workshop will be shared to the relevant quarters. He thanked the resource persons for joining the activity and also appreciated the active participation of the constitutional institutions. The DG Shari‘ah Academy said that the academy interacts with all the constitutional institutions and provides equal opportunities to all the relevant officials in the training and research programs. He told that it is the first time that the academy has conducted a workshop on the topic of Riba on such a large scale that was joined by leading prudent minds of the country. Dr. Abdul Hai Abro said that the academy, as per vision of Worthy President IIUI, is conducting outreach programs across the country and recently an Islamic Law Orientation Course for Ulema and Mufties was conducted at Quetta for the first time. He apprised that the academy is establishing Shariah corners across the country and in the first stage, 10 Shariah corners have been established in the libraries of Sindh province. Dr. Abdul Hai Abro said that Shari‘ah Academy is in contact with Bar Associations and it shall soon conduct more programs for the legal fraternity. The concluding ceremony was also attended by, Maulana Zahid Ur Rashdi ConvenerRiba Elimination Movement , Mr.Qanat Khalilullah, Executive Vice President Ufone & PTCL, scholars and administrative officials of the Academy
