Rhe State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in the SBP Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition was inaugurated by the caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar – who was also a former Governor of the SBP – and will remain open for public throughout the month of July.

MW Farooqui, SBP’s 95-year-old senior most employee, who has the distinction of attending the first inauguration by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on July 1, 1948 inaugurated the Open House. Serving SBP Governor, Tariq Bajwa, and former governors Dr Ishrat Husain, Yaseen Anwar, and Ashraf Mahmood Wathra were also present at this auspicious occasion.

Akhtar also unveiled the commemorative stamp issued by Pakistan Post to mark the milestone, followed by the distribution of complimentary stamp by the Governor. Enlarged images of the stamps issued by SBP earlier were also on display.

The exhibition displayed photographs of the past SBP governors along with coins and currency notes issued during their tenure. It also showcased the inauguration of the main SBP Building – now the Museum and Art Gallery, its design and selection along with the original message of President Ayub Khan and his photos. This part of the exhibition focused on the journey of defacing and sorting of currency notes from earlier to modern times.

The exhibition includes the historic journey of SBP is displayed through old photographs and newspaper clippings since its inauguration, while selected events from the SBP magazine, SBP News, from 1960 onwards were also on display along with other archives/ documents related to the establishment of the bank.

Visitors who wish to see the exhibition will be able enjoy a short history of establishment of the first monetary museum of Pakistan, Sadequain and the contemporary art gallery, as repository of most precious art treasures of Pakistan. – PR