In Lahore, the Punjab caretaker government recently granted approval forinterest-free loans totaling Rs360 million to eleven judges of the LahoreHigh Court (LHC). This group of judges includes one who had issued a stayorder against a government decision concerning sugar mills.
These loans, approved by the Punjab Cabinet’s Standing Committee onFinance, have been requested by the judges to facilitate the constructionof residences or the acquisition of properties. The judges are expected torepay these interest-free loans over a period of twelve years, with eachjudge receiving approximately Rs30 million. This amount is equivalent to 36times their basic monthly salary, which stands at Rs912,862.
The beneficiaries of these loans are Justice Rasaal Hasan Syed, JusticeShakeel Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Tariq Nadeem, Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq,Justice Abid Hussian Chattha, Justice Anwaar Hussain, Justice Ali ZiaBajwa, Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi, Justice Raheel Kamran, Justice AhmedNadeem Arshad, and Justice Safdar Saleem Shahid. It’s noteworthy that thismarks the first instance of government officials receiving interest-freeloans.
