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PESHAWAR (The News) : The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday suspended the orders issued by the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) to borrowers in the militancy-hit Malakand division, asking them to pay back loans written off by the federal government.
He said the prime minister had also announced total waiver of loans in Malakand, Buner, Swat and Chitral districts fiscal relief to rehabilitate the economic life in Khyber Pakhtun-khwa, Fata and Pata.
A two-member PHC bench comprising Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Yahya Afridi issued notices to ZTBL zonal chief of Malakand and its managers to appear and explain position as to why they issued recovery orders after the federal government notifications on waiver of the same loans.
Asmatullah and 38 other farmers and non-farmer borrowers of ZTBL, residents of Malakand, had filed a writ petition through Abdul Zakir Tareen Advocate, claiming that to provide relief to the war-affected districts of Khyber Pakhtun-khwa, the prime minister had announced at the Kissan Convention 2009 a relief package for cancellation of small-scale farmers’ agricultural loan (farm and non-farming) having outstanding balances as on June 30, 2009, of all the districts of Malakand division.
They said despite the prime minister’s announcement and State Bank of Pakistan circular to chief executive officers of all the banks, the ZTBL issued directives to all its managers in Malakand to recover the written off loans from the borrowers, otherwise face strict action.
The petitioners’ lawyer submitted in the court that the State Bank first issued a circular to all banks on December 2, 2009, under which loans were written off to small farmers of Malakand and Fata.
The criteria of small farmers was that those farmers having subsistence and holding 12.5 acres and the case of non-farm sector, i.e. stock 20-50 cows/buffalos and up to 150 goats/sheep, poultry up to 5,000 birds/broilers and 1,000 birds, etc.
He said the prime minister had also announced total waiver of loans in Malakand, Buner, Swat and Chitral districts fiscal relief to rehabilitate the economic life in Khyber Pakhtun-khwa, Fata and Pata.
The lawyer said that on February 2, 2011, the State Bank in pursuance of the prime minister’s orders had also issued another circular to all banks not to recover loans, outstanding as of December 31, 2009 against the borrowers of Malakand, Swat, Buner and Chitral districts
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