ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the changes made by Gen. Zia to the Pakistani legal system that set the stage for the 1991, 1999, and 2002 Pakistani court rulings. The 1991 and 1999 judgments threatened to completely overturn the existing Pakistani financial system in favor of establishing the world’s first ‘truly Islamic’ and ‘riba-free’ system. The 2002 judgment restored the status quo but paved the way for the 2002 ‘reboot’ of the Pakistani version of Islamic banking. My aim is to provide the reader with both a ‘big picture’ overview and what I feel are some crucial ‘in the weeds’ details of the Pakistani Islamic banking sector. Accordingly, the chapter includes the changes to the Pakistani judicial system instituted by Gen. Zia and the 1991, 1999, and 2002 Federal Shariat Court (FSC) and Shariat Appellate Bench (SAB) rulings that changed the nature of the Pakistani Islamic banking landscape. It will also include a brief discussion of the 2002 ‘reboot’ of Pakistani Islamic banking.
