The Rs75 banknote controversy.

KARACHI -- In an effort to make Pakistan and its central bank's 75-year celebrations more memorable in 2022 and 2023, respectively, the bank issued two currency notes carrying equal value of Rs75 each in different designs and colours - both valid and acceptable for public use.

Misconceptions related to their status as 'commemorative notes' but still legally acceptable for settling payments made them immediately controversial and a large number of shopkeepers refused to accept the banknotes, questioning whether they are legal tender and do banks accept them?

At the same time, the rumours about their 'discontinuation' came partly true as they were printed only once like other commemorative coins and notes and unlike the regular banknotes of Rs10, Rs20, Rs50, Rs100, Rs500, Rs1,000 and Rs5,000, which are printed without interruption.

Unlike the limited production of other commemorate coins and banknotes, the Rs75 currency notes were printed in a comparatively large quantity, estimated at over 100 million pieces of each of the two designs.

They were also circulated on a mass scale to make sure they reach the common man and make the 75-year anniversaries more memorable.

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State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) spokesperson Abid Qamar said 'the central bank has no intention to discontinue the Rs75 banknotes. These notes will remain in circulation till they remain.'

The first Rs75 currency note was printed in green colour on Pakistan's 75th Independence Day on August 14, 2022. It carries images of the father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and national heroes including Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Allama Iqbal and Fatima Jinnah.

The multiple images on the banknote surprised many as all other notes carry the image of only the Quaid-e-Azam. It created a feeling among people that the Rs75 note was only a commemorative note and was not for public use.

The second Rs75 banknote, which is in blue colour and has the image of only the Quaid-e-Azam, was later released to mark the SBP's 75th anniversary on July 4, 2023.

A senior banker elaborated that the commemorative currency notes were issued in big quantities to make sure they reached the common man and made the anniversaries more memorable unlike other commemorative coins and notes that were produced in relatively moderate...