Senator Mohsin Aziz blamed Rs5000 note for corruption and inflation

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz in the upper house of Parliament called for the discontinuation of the Rs5,000 currency note in a bid to end corruption and inflation.

Senator Mohsin Aziz tabled a resolution in the Senate of Pakistan that the Rs5,000 note is used for corruption, terrorism, and smuggling.

The Senator said that Rs5000 currency notes worth Rs3.5 trillion have been issued to date. Of which, he said, Rs5,000 notes worth Rs2 trillion were not in circulation and are stored in “safe deposit”.

PTI Senator Waleed Iqbal also joined the fellow lawmaker’s call to ban the Rs5000 currency note, saying that digital payments should be promoted to reduce currency circulation.

The Interim Information Minister gave the Reality Check to Senator Mohsin Aziz

Responding to the senator’s incorrect claims, caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said Rs5,000 currency notes worth 905 million have been issued so far and added that Rs4.5 trillion are in circulation at the moment.

Just couple of months ealier former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Shabbar Zaidi insisted that the discontinuation of Rs5,000 notes and curbs on the physical movement of dollars is key to curbing the cash economy in the country.

Zaidi maintained that currency circulation is very high in Pakistan and the Rs5,000 note provides convenience in the cash economy, adding that people have kept wealth in their lockers in dollars and Rs5,000 notes, which should be banned.