PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra Wednesday hailed the National Bank of Pakistan for taking initiatives to help government alleviate poverty from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Addressing a rickshaw distribution ceremony held at the Governor’s House, Jhagra appreciated the efforts made by the state-run bank in promoting Islamic banking which according to him was the preferred choice of the people of the province in general and tribesmen of tribal agencies in particular. He urged the NBP president to open Islamic banking branches at every agency headquarters to cater to the financial needs of the tribesmen in compliance with their religious faith. He said that NBP’s initiative will enable people earn their livelihood and help government alleviate poverty from the community as a whole. He hoped that the journey of love and affinity between the bank and the tribal people will continue and get stronger with the passage of time. The NBP president thanked the participants and said, “NBP is people’s bank. Our objective in opening branches in far flung areas under the Aitemaad Islamic Banking banner is to cater to the preferences of the local communities and also to increase their inclusion in the financial system.” He stated that his bank is ready to play its role in alleviating poverty and providing a conducive environment to make lives of the people better. The president informed the participants that the bank is already working with Akhuwat in implementing their loan schemes. He explained salient features of the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan Scheme and its importance and effectiveness if followed and availed in true spirit. He pointed out that his bank is keen to promote the SME sector. He said an SBP refinancing scheme is available which has a markup rate of 6% for the borrowers for a tenure of up to 10 years. There are special schemes for woman borrowers, he added. The president said that an MOU has been signed with the Provincial Housing Authority (PHA) for financing housing scheme of KP government for the low-income groups both by conventional banking as well as using Sharia compliant Islamic mode of financing. Regional Head of Aitemaad Islamic Banking Saima Rahim said that she was working to address a popular demand of financing the solar panels which are badly needed in tribal areas to address the issue of power shortage. She said that the bank was working on introduction of special schemes for this purpose at a reasonable rate. On behalf of the delegates and the tribal people, a tribal elder thanked Governor Jhagra and NBP chief for opening Islamic banking branches in the tribal areas. Published in Daily Times, May 17th 2018.