Pakistan Can Become Big Player in Global Halal Economy: ICCD

Pakistan possesses significant potential to expand its role in the global Islamic economy by creating new products compliant with Shariah law, strengthening regulations, and honing specialized skills, asserts ICCD Secretary General Yousef Hassan Khalawi. During a talk series hosted by Pakistan's Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), Khalawi highlighted several advantages Pakistan enjoys, such as its substantial Muslim population, a considerable expatriate community, a burgeoning Islamic finance sector, and a robust cadre of financial experts.

He emphasized the need for Pakistan to transcend conventional Islamic finance and develop offerings that cater to both domestic and foreign markets, particularly in domains like fintech. Khalawi stressed that Islamic finance should also serve broader economic and social growth objectives, not just financial transactions alone. He pointed towards Waqf-based investment structures as a promising avenue, suggesting that professionally managed and transparent listed Waqf models could aggregate even minor contributions from individuals to finance projects in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Agriculture was another sector he identified with substantial potential. Khalawi advocated for specialized Shariah-compliant financial instruments and increased expertise to unlock funding for these sectors. The conversation also touched upon Qard Hassan, or interest-free lending, with fintech identified as a possible instrument to make such lending more accessible and affordable.

Khalawi underscored the importance of developing uniform Shariah standards and rigorous professional training for the industry.