ISLAMABAD: Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif expressed serious concerns over the autonomy granted to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during the PTI-led government’s tenure and said the new government will abolish it.
The PTI government gave autonomous status to SBP in the wake of agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for securing $6-billion loan stalled programme.
To make the SBP autonomous, the government amended the SBP Act, 1956 through the SBP (Amendment) Act, 2021.
Speaking in a TV programme, Khawaja Asif said he still believes the laws that the previous government amended to meet the IMF’s conditions were wrong and needed to be reserved.
The defence minister said former prime minister Imran Khan had “sold out” Pakistan’s economic sovereignty to the United States, as Washington has the most shares in the IMF.
“IMF is an institution in which America has a lot of stakes as it is the largest shareholder. Imran Khan sold out our economic sovereignty to them as he handed over our central bank — our bank of the last resort — to the IMF,” he said.
The defence minister said the coalition government would reverse the move and reestablish Pakistan’s economic sovereignty, but noted that the central bank would be given independence when it comes to the monetary policy.
When asked whether he would raise the concerns with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said: “I will definitely ask him to do it.”
The defence minister also assured that the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Dr Reza Baqir would retire on his designated date and the government has no plans of retaining him. “His term is about to end and we will not retain him,” he added.
