In Lahore, the Punjab caretaker government recently granted approval for interest-free loans totaling Rs360 million to eleven judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC). This group of judges includes one who had issued a stay order against a government decision concerning sugar mills.
These loans, approved by the Punjab Cabinet's Standing Committee on Finance, have been requested by the judges to facilitate the construction of residences or the acquisition of properties. The judges are expected to repay these interest-free loans over a period of twelve years, with each judge receiving approximately Rs30 million. This amount is equivalent to 36 times their basic monthly salary, which stands at Rs912,862.
The beneficiaries of these loans are Justice Rasaal Hasan Syed, Justice Shakeel Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Tariq Nadeem, Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq, Justice Abid Hussian Chattha, Justice Anwaar Hussain, Justice Ali Zia Bajwa, Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi, Justice Raheel Kamran, Justice Ahmed Nadeem Arshad, and Justice Safdar Saleem Shahid. It's noteworthy that this marks the first instance of government officials receiving interest-free loans.