—Claims central bank will govern the country through controversial legislation
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PML-N senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has warned about the possible consequences of the recently-passed SBP Amendment Bill 2021, which seeks absolute autonomy for the country’s central bank.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Abbasi termed the bill damaging to the country’s sovereignty and suggested that the bill should be tabled in the National Assembly again to evolve consensus over it as it has not been passed by the Senate yet.
Following the enactment of the bill, the PML-N leader said the government and parliament will not be able to exercise control over SBP and added that the central bank will impose conditions on the country’s economy similar to those imposed by International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The PML-N leader said the main objective of the SBP is to control the banking and financial system but through this bill the central bank will govern the country by managing its affairs, which could lead to further poverty, rise in inflation and unemployment.
He also claimed that under the amendments in the bill, SBP will have the authority to exchange Pakistan’s economy-related information with IMF and foreign governments.
The former PM said if the SBP bill is not presented in the National Assembly for debate, they will repeal the law after coming into power.
“We will not let anyone to sell Pakistan,” he added.
The government and its allies last week bulldozed Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and SBP Amendment Bill 2021 through the National Assembly to ensure its sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) gets cleared by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board, paving the way for the disbursement of about $1 billion tranche.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said there was nothing wrong in the SBP amendment bill as the authority of appointing the SBP governor and its board members would rest with the government.
He said the government wanted to give autonomy to the central bank in line with the vision of ruling PTI which he said was good for the country’s economy.
Planning Minister Asad Umar said for the last two-and-a-half years, the government had not taken any loan from the central Bank, “therefore, the passage of SBP bill, 2021 will not have any negative impact on the country”.
