ISLAMABAD: Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani on Tuesday made a new demand, which could stir a new debate in the country in the coming days. Speaking at a seminar hosted by the CII in Islamabad, Sheerani said that economy was based on silver and gold coins in the past. “We must bring back the circulation of gold and silver,” he said. The current system of economy based on paper currency is not durable because there is nothing concrete in the paper currency, he pointed out. He said that Islamic style of economy was necessary to revive the Islamic principles. He announced that the council would soon open a debate on re-circulation of gold and silver coins. Addressing the two-day conference titled “Foundations of Islamic Economy and Modern Day Problems,” various religious scholars sought practical measures to eliminate the role of interest in the economy. They said that researchers should work to eliminate interest. They said that Islam offered a complete code of life. They said that Pakistan should derive all its laws from the Holy Quran and Sunnah. They said that equitable distribution of Zakat and charity could help eliminate poverty and unemployment. Wasimullah said that researchers’ work should be monitored to abolish the interest-based economic system. Prof Dr Zahid Siddique said that commercial banks were making a lot of money by distributing loans to people. Dr Muhammad Altaf lauded the efforts of the CII with regard to Islamisation of the economy. Haji Zulfikar Ali said the Islamic banking system had failed to deliver and bring about a positive change because it was responsible for unequal distribution of wealth. Some Islamic banks earned profits up to 200 times in six years. Mehmood Shafqat, a representative of the State Bank of Pakistan, said that children should be taught about demerits of interest right at the school level. Prof Dr Zahid Munir, Mufti Abdul Manan, Mufti Muhammad Ahmed Raza, Prof Dr Attique Zafar, Uzma Noureen and Mufti Sabir Hussain also spoke.