State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it clear that the design of the new bank notes do not favor any religion as many people claim it to be.
According to an official statement, one of the designs initially selected aimed to reflect Pakistan’s rich religious diversity. This design, unfortunately was very misunderstood, and caused much confusion among the general public.
The SBP stated that the Art Committee which chose the designs based their decisions solely on artistic quality and expression of inclusiveness. Despite this, none of the designs submitted in the competition have been finalized for the new currency notes.
The development of the new currency design will be outsourced to international design firms that will bid for the project. These companies will be sending in their proposals around December 2024.
After the submission, the State Bank will look over and approve the designs, they will then be sent to the federal government in Jan. 2025 for final approval. After it’s approval the SBP will take the responsibility of printing these new currency notes, which is a very big leap for Pakistan to modernize its currency.
