During the late 1970s the then-government of Pakistan decided to make the whole of the country's existing banking industry sharia-compliant. This process was ostensibly completed by 1985, when all 'interest-bearing' accounts were abolished. The public was not convinced, however, regarding the new regime as a whitewash in which names had changed but the system remained essentially the same.
So a fresh approach was introduced during the 1990s, when the customer was given a choice between a conventional banking counter and an Islamic counter at the same bank. Since then the Islamic model has evolved to the point where banks can select one of three variations.
