Offenders could face 3 to 10 years imprisonment, along with a fine of up to Rs1 millionStaff ReporterSindh government has taken a major step to combat usury by passing a law that prohibits the charging of interest on private loans.The law also imposes a ban on taking interest on cash or assets. Furthermore, it holds the usury company or its agent accountable for facilitating such transactions.According to the new law, taking interest at the individual or company level will be considered a punishable offence.Offenders could face imprisonment ranging from three to 10 years, along with a fine of up to Rs1 million.
There will a five-year sentence for harassing the borrower.To ensure compliance, the legislation strictly prohibits charging interest exceeding the actual loan amount.The new legislation aims to curb exploitative practices and protect individuals from undue financial burdens.
In the event of a usury complaint, the affected party can file a report with the Justice of the Peace, who will then initiate the first information report (FIR) process within three days.Loan apps in Pakistan have been in hot waters recently with the likes of FIA initiating large-scale crackdowns, resulting in many office shutdowns and app removals from the Google Play Store.Speaking of Google, the search engine giant has also launched stricter policies against these apps in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).If you have been keeping up with these apps, you would know that the suspicion is not uncalled for.
They do collect a dubious amount of data after all. Here are the details.Popular loan apps, even the ones registered with the SECP, need a suspicious amount of permissions, even for simple tasks. Barwaqt, for instance, needs to see all your phone gallery, your contacts, your app activity, and all your personal info.
