By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: Deputy Governor SBP, Ms. Sima Kamil, unveiled the commemorative stamp of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Museum to mark the 10th anniversary of its establishment. The Bank’s senior management, officials from Pakistan Post and well known personalities and patrons of the arts and museums were also present on this occasion.
The design of the stamp is based on the SBP Museum Building, featuring the rich cultural heritage of the country and a manifestation of art in architecture. The building was originally built by the Imperial Bank of India in 1920 for its branch office in Karachi. In 1950, the building was handed over to SBP that remained in use for various purposes till it was converted into the SBP Museum in the 2000’s. This commemorative stamp is the 3rd such stamp issued to honour the SBP. Earlier, stamps were issued on the occasion of 25th and 70th anniversary of SBP.
The history of SBP Museum dates back to the 1960s when initially, an Archive and Numismatic Museum was established on the fifth floor of the head quarter building of SBP. In the decade of 2000, during the tenure of former Governor Dr. Ishrat Husain, it was decided to expand the museum at a grander level and house the current heritage building. A dedicated team of professionals worked tirelessly to collect ancient coins and other artifacts and devised means for their preservation and exhibition following international best practices. Finally, on July 1, 2011 the building was formally inaugurated, as Museum & Art Gallery of SBP. The Museum while maintaining high standards has also obtained the membership of ICOM (International Council of Museums).
Addressing the audience, Deputy Governor, Ms. Kamil paid rich tributes to the hard work, commitment and dedication of the current as well as past staff of the Museum, Archive & Art Gallery who worked for its establishment and operations later on. She particularly thanked Dr. Ishrat Hussain for his vision and Dr. Asma Ibraheem, the Director of the Museum, for leading the realization of this vision and continuously adding value through expanding collections and exhibitions.
The tradition of establishing money museums is associated with majority of central banks globally with the objective to keep public abreast with evolutionary process of money and finance. Pakistan is among those geographical locations in the world where currency, starting from its most primitive forms, evolved into its most developed shape. The SBP Museum also has stamps of Indus Valley Civilization which were used as currency during that era.
Last year, SBP has established a paper conservation laboratory under the Division of Archives & Record Management, inaugurated by Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir, which is quite unique in the country. Objects at the Archives/ record management/ Museum of SBP are exceptional in terms of history and the work aims at their conservation with the help of latest technology. The laboratory is the repository of the permanently valuable records of SBP which have been determined to have continuing historical value or legal/ fiscal significance.
On the issuance of commemorative stamp, Ms. Kamil appreciated and thanked Pakistan Post for honouring the SBP Museum on its 10th anniversary and for the hard work in issuance of this stamp. Acknowledging the importance of postal services, she said that postal services have been instrumental in connecting different nation states and citizens with the rest of the world through correspondence over centuries. She added that besides facilitating commerce, postal services have always brought people closer together. Although traditional correspondence has reduced in today’s world, it is still an important means of communications in far-flung areas of a developing country like Pakistan.
Deputy Governor, Ms. Sima Kamil, particularly appreciated Mr. Adil Salahuddin for designing the commemorative stamp. She thanked him for donating his collection of stamps and the material that explains the design process of Stamps and Currency notes to the SBP Museum. She stressed the need for establishing such museums in other parts of the country as well and said that SBP will work in this direction and will welcome the support of government and private sector entities in this regard.
The commemorative stamp serves as a reminder of significant contribution of SBP to preserve the heritage and serve the cause of education and significance of the SBP and will be available at all the post offices in the country from 3rd July, 2021.
