ISLAMABAD
In a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance on Friday, the President of Pakistan has appointed a recently retired bureaucrat from the civil service and ex-finance secretary Tariq Bajwa as the new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan for a period of three years.
Pakistan Today has got hold of the notification as under:
Tariq Bajwa is a renowned bureaucrat with a reputation for being upright and competent who served with distinction in the civil service. Bajwa also served as the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue for 2.5 years.
He is known to be close to the ruling family and his appointment as governor of the central bank comes at a critical juncture when the country is going through daunting issues at the external economic front. He will be responsible for supporting and consolidating the government’s economic reforms and financial robustness of the banking sector.
Bajwa did his Masters in Public Administration from the prestigious and world renowned Harvard University and is the only Pakistani to be a recipient of the prestigious Littauer Fellowship.
Earlier on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing the media had stated that the sudden surge in US dollar value was due to “miscommunication between certain people”. He further assured that the market would adjust itself back to stability.
Dar chaired a meeting of bank CEOs earlier to discuss the recent economic development. He termed depreciation of rupee “surprising” and “artificial”.
“The hike in the dollar was artificial and happened as a result of miscommunication between certain people. A transparent investigation into the matter would be conducted and we will gather all the facts, including who profited and who bore losses from this hike,” he asserted.
Dar further informed that the appointment of governor of State Bank of Pakistan would be finalised once Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is back from an official visit to Tajikistan.
He also announced that an inquiry into the dollar value hike would be launched once the governor of SBP is confirmed.
Dar further explained that no individual including himself had the authority to artificially intervene into the working of the foreign exchange market and adjust dollar value.
