Pakistan to issue Islamic bank licences

PAKISTAN - Pakistan's military government is to issue licences for new Islamic banks, the first time that new banking licences would be issued in a decade, according to Shaukat Aziz, finance minister.

The decision appears to be a reversal of Pakistan's earlier policy of a cap on the number of private banks in the country with a view to encouraging mergers to build up national banking networks, replacing small, regional banks. However, it is driven mainly by concerns over the controversy surrou