Governor Orders State Bank To Disclose List Of 1000 Major Defaulters

 

Lahore (Asif Mahmood Butt) Pakistan Information Commission has issued orders to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan to disclose the list of 1000 big loan defaulters within 10 days under the Federal Government's Right to Access to Information Act 2017. The Pakistan Information Commission, in its ruling on a petition filed under the said Act by Azmat Khan, a resident of Karachi, said it was an admitted fact that 1,000 people had taken loans from the respective banks and failed to repay them, which Both the country and the banks involved suffered considerable financial losses. The information and disclosures related to such persons cannot be kept secret.

The Information Commission of Pakistan rejected the plea of ​​immunity given by the State Bank in this case saying that it has no relevance to this case. The Commission has directed the State Bank Governor to disclose the required information and submit it to the Commission within 10 days. Failure to comply with the Commission's orders will result in initiation of action against the responsible parties under Section 20(f) of the Right to Information Act, 2017. Petitioner Azmat Khan sought the list of 1,000 major loan defaulters under the Federal Government's Access to Information Act, 2017.

In a reply submitted by the State Bank of Pakistan to the Pakistan Information Commission, Sections of the Right to Access to Information Act, 2017 7(d) sought exemption from disclosure of said information, which relates to banking companies and financial institutions' accounts and records of their customers. The Commission, after carefully reviewing the request for information and the State Bank's written response and the relevant law, clarified in its order that Section 7(d) of the Right to Information Act, 2017, exempts certain records from disclosure. states, the debt is not applicable to the requested list of defaulters.