Business

Dar launches four new Shariah compliant products under National Savings

ISLAMABAD, June 26 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, launched the first-ever Shariah-compliant products under National Savings on Monday.

Muhammad Ishaq Dar launched Sarwa Islamic Products under Rafa National Savings (RNS) as per Shariah Principles based on the concept of Investment Agency and Musharakah.

While addressing the launch ceremony in Islamabad here, Dar said these products will answer the public’s demand for Shariah-compliant investing. He said these offerings will be in the form of 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year term accounts with monthly, semi-annual, and end-to-maturity profit distributions. He added that the products will be available from July 1st. 

He said that the government remains committed to implementing an interest-free Islamic financial system. The Finance Minister further expressed the resolve and commitment of the government to promote Islamic finance and establish an interest-free system in Pakistan within a timeframe of 5 years. He also informed the participants that the Government has also constituted a high-level Steering Committee for this purpose, headed by Governor State Bank and being personally supervised by the Finance Minister himself. The committee is mandated to ensure a smooth transition to a Shariah-Compliant economy.

In the end, the Finance Minister commended the Finance Division and National Savings teams for this achievement, as this launch would mark the Shariah Compliant Retail Products at the government level for the first time in Pakistan.

The new Islamic offerings under the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) will be offered via RNS, which is responsible for providing Shariah-compliant investment accounts under “Sarwa Islamic Savings Account Rules, 2019.

RNS has launched Shariah-compliant Sarwa Islamic Savings Account (SISA) and Sarwa Islamic Term Account (SITA). Term Account Schemes will comprise four different tenures of one (1) year, three (3) years, five (5) years, and ten (10) years. In this phase, CDNS is offering SITA-3 years and SITA-5 years only. All policy-related matters/rules pertaining to this scheme shall be referred to RNS, CDNS.