The Senate Standing Committee on Finance of Pakistan has recommended the introduction of plastic currency to discourage counterfeit notes. The committee in its meeting discussed the issue of fake currency in circulation, which is reportedly increasing. According to media reports, Chairman of the committee, Saleem Mandviwala, said that fake currency notes of 1,000 rupees are the most common, and that even ATM machines are dispensing counterfeit notes.

Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Jameel Ahmed, assured the committee that the SBP is planning to introduce polymer currency notes in the future. He also said that the SBP is working on changing the security features of currency notes to make them more difficult to counterfeit. The SBP had previously denied plans to introduce plastic currency, but the recent recommendation from the Senate committee suggests that the central bank is now seriously considering it.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)