The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recent announced the winners of a competition to design new currency notes, has sparked an online debate.

One of the winning design, particularly the Rs 5,000 note, has been criticised by some social media users over the depiction of the internationally-recognised disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir region.

While some users saw no issue with in depiction of the disputed region, also noting that the art competition held no official value, others saw it as an attempt to ‘normalise Kashmir’s exclusion.’

The online criticism came despite the SBP’s earlier announcement that shortlisted designs from local artists go on to be shared with international designers who will collaborate with the SBP to finalise the new currency series.

The international designers will take inspiration from the local submissions but will use their expertise and imagination to craft the final banknote designs, according to the SBP.

The central bank initiated the process of designing and issuing new banknotes across all existing denominations in January 2024, intending to modernise the country’s currency.

In March, the SBP launched an art competition inviting innovative and thematic design ideas for the new series of notes. The competition attracted creative entries from across the country.

On Thursday, the SBP announced the winners, with Dr Shery Abidi, Haroon Khan, Syed Fawad Hussain, Memoona Afzal, Hadiya Hassan, and Noureen Aslam securing the first prize. Second-prize winners included Mirza Sufiyan, Aynee Zahra, and Karim Muhammad.

Meanwhile, the central bank earlier confirmed there is no plan to introduce polymer banknotes at this stage, it remains committed to refreshing the look and feel of the national currency through this artistic endeavor.