Pakistan is moving closer to introducing newly-designed currency notes, as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has confirmed that preparations have entered their final stage, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
The development was confirmed by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad during a press conference held after the latest monetary policy announcement.
According to the SBP governor, the design and preparatory work for the new banknotes is nearly complete.
Once formal approval is granted by the federal cabinet, the central bank will begin printing two to three different denominations simultaneously.
Officials clarified that the proposals for the new currency designs have already been reviewed internally and forwarded to the government.
These were later presented before the federal cabinet, which formed a special cabinet committee to further evaluate the matter.
While confirmation has been given that two to three denominations will be printed initially, SBP has not yet disclosed which values will be introduced first.
“The new-design notes will come into circulation as soon as the central bank achieves the minimum stock to replace the notes currently in circulation,” he said.
However, the governor did not disclose which denominations would be introduced first. Currently, currency notes in circulation include Rs10, Rs20, Rs50, Rs75, Rs100, Rs500, Rs1,000 and Rs5,000.
He added that the redesigned notes have already been sent to the government for approval and were later forwarded to the cabinet.
“We have sent the new designs to the government for approval, and the government has placed them before the cabinet,” the Governor concluded as saying.