Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has asked the central bank to formulate a new law to deal with counterfeiting offences in Pakistan, according to an official statement. He was chairing a meeting to review the report of the Task Force on Combating the Counterfeiting of Currency Notes and Government Bills. The Prime Minister constituted the Task Force in August last under the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Dr Shamshad Akhtar, with representation from various departments. Aziz said that the law should be in line with the best international practices covering all monetary instruments including currency notes, bonds, certificates, stamps etc. The Prime Minister said that the counterfeiting task involves seamless coordination among various departments. The lead agency, Federal Investigation Agency or FIA), needs to coordinate with all stakeholders to check production and movement of fake currency. They should focus both on production within Pakistan and cross border movement, he said. Aziz said all resources should be used to get to the source of the crime. Manufacturers and wholesalers should be traced and strict punishment should be awarded to them. The Prime Minister asked the SBP to launch a campaign to create awareness in the general public about the security features of currency notes. He said the law enforcing agencies should encourage the general public to report the incidents of counterfeiting. The SBP governor presented the report of the Task Force and said it identified reluctance of general public to report counterfeiting instances, lack of coordination among the concerned agencies, lack of awareness about the security features as the major issues. Ms Dr Akhtar emphasized the need for strengthening the legal provisions/enforcement and formulation of policy framework on changing currency. She said some measures have already been taken to check counterfeiting. Advanced security features have been added in the design of currency and comprehensive training programmes for SBP and law enforcement agencies have been launched to check counterfeiting.
