Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
The Upper House of the Parliament on Friday approved the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2022amid an outcry from the opposition on suffering back-to-back defeats in the House, where it otherwise enjoys a dominating numerical strength.
When Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin tabled a motion seeking permission to introduce the SBP bill, the opposition members objected to it. A motion was put forth to vote through division and was carried by 44 against 43 votes, marking the first blow to the opposition in the day. The bill was passed by a single vote majority as the opposition kept on expressing its reservations.
In order to complete the representation in the Senate, the government brought coronavirus sufferer member Dr Zarqa to the session to cast vote in favor of SBP Amendment Bill 2022.
Wearing oxygen mask, the senator attended the meeting on wheelchair and cast her vote. On January 13, the National Assembly passed the SBP autonomy bill along with the supplementary finance bill, both these bills were a requirement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The approval of the State Bank amendment bill was necessary to ensure Pakistan’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFE) gets cleared by the IMF’s Executive Board which is scheduled to meet on February 2 to decide the disbursement of the $1-billion tranche.
Earlier in the day, the government delayed the process of tabling the bill due to less representation in the session and sought more time, sparking the protest from the opposition members who chanted slogans and demanded to immediately present the bill. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani asked that the State Bank bill was listed in the agenda then why was the government not presenting it. He further said that the government was eager to present this bill in the Senate, now no one was ready to even talk about it.
Meanwhile, the opposition Senators stood at their seats and chanted slogans against the government and urged the treasury benches to lay the SBP Amendment Bill before the house. attended the meeting on wheelchair and cast her vote. On January 13, the National Assembly passed the SBP autonomy bill along with the supplementary finance bill, both these bills were a requirement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The approval of the State Bank amendment bill was necessary to ensure Pakistan’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFE) gets cleared by the IMF’s Executive Board which is scheduled to meet on February 2 to decide the disbursement of the $1-billion tranche.
Earlier in the day, the government delayed the process of tabling the bill due to less representation in the session and sought more time, sparking the protest from the opposition members who chanted slogans and demanded to immediately present the bill. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani asked that the State Bank bill was listed in the agenda then why was the government not presenting it. He further said that the government was eager to present this bill in the Senate, now no one was ready to even talk about it.
Meanwhile, the opposition Senators stood at their seats and chanted slogans against the government and urged the treasury benches to lay the SBP Amendment Bill before the house.
Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani asked the Senators to start a discussion on President Arif Alvi’s speech to the joint sitting of the Parliament, but the lawmakers denied it. Later, Sanjrani had adjourned the important session of the Senate for 30 minutes.
As many as 54 amendments, including 10 new sections, have been introduced to the SBP Act 1956 through the amendment bill, which was first approved in a cabinet meeting on March 3, 2021. It was revised earlier this month following observations from the Law Division, Prime Minister Secretariat.
