KARACHI: “The Bank may well be proud of the progress it has made during the year. It has weathered all storms and grown from strength to strength,” states the first report of the Central Board of Directors of the State Bank of Pakistan on the working of the Bank during the period from July 1, 1948, to June 30, 1949. The report adds: “During the year the Bank has accomplished the not-too-easy task of the withdrawal of India notes circulating in Pakistan and has in part received Pakistan’s share of the assets of the Reserve Bank of India.

“The Bank has … floated the second series of the Central Government Loans; it has completed the work of the Share Issue; it has issued its own two rupee notes; it has maintained the external and internal value of the Pakistan currency; it has developed a market for securities and … kept a constant vigil over the activities of banks operating in the country.” The Board utters a warning … when it refers to the corrosive effect of corruption on Government’s administrative machinery. … The report mentions that Pakistan applied for membership of the [IMF] during the last year… .

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024