On August 21, 2024, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad announced plans to unveil new circulation banknotes in all denominations with a new design next year to improve their security features.
The SBP will complete the design work by December and will issue the new banknotes in a phased manner, Ahmad told a parliamentary body in Islamabad. One of the denominations will be a polymer note, he said. "It will be launched to test its life as well as security features and if it remains effective as long as paper notes in our climatic conditions," he said. Ahmad did not state which denomination would be issued on a polymer substrate.
The old (currently circulating) banknotes will then be withdrawn five years after the issuance of new ones, Ahmad said, adding there was no plan to demonetize any currency banknotes.
The planned issuance of a polymer banknote in Pakistan comes as a surprise indeed. In March of this year, the SBP issued a statement, "There is no such plan or suggestion currently under consideration regarding the change in the substrate of banknotes from paper to polymer." The SBP uses a cotton-based paper substrate, which is manufactured locally by Security Papers Limited, using primarily local, raw materials.
