Defence Minister hints to reverse autonomy granted to SBP

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday hinted to reverse autonomy granted to the central bank through the SBP (Amendment) Act, 2021.

The defence minister during an interview with Geo News' programme "Capital Talk" said he still believes the laws that the previous government amended to meet the IMF's conditions were wrong and needed to be reversed.

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 is 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 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.

It is pertinent to note that the PTI government had fulfilled the condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with regard to granting autonomous status to the central bank.

For this purpose, the SBP Act, 1956 was amended through the SBP (Amendment) Act, 2021, for enhanced central bank autonomy, price stability, and accountability.