ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that making the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) independent is in line with economic responsibility.
The foreign minister said this while speaking at the floor of the Upper House of the Parliament on Tuesday.
He maintained that the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, which made the bank autonomous, has caused conflict and that he wants to put forth the government’s reasoning for backing the bill.
“The prime minister has the power to appoint board members of the institution, and the impression that the institution has been enslaved is wrong,” Qureshi said. He emphasised that the SBP was and will remain a subject to the Senate.
Qureshi lashed out at the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gillani and called him a “compromised leader” and a “sell-out”. He issued the statement while speaking in the Senate after Gillani, in his Senate speech on Monday, had said he was being accused by “turncoats” — in an apparent reference to FM Qureshi — of helping the government pass the SBP bill.
During the January 28 session, when the SBP bill was passed, 12 members were absent, including Gillani and seven other members of the opposition, two from the government, and two from independent candidate Dilawar Khan’s group.
Taking a jibe at Gillani for his absence, federal ministers and government officials had thanked him for “helping” the government pass the crucial SBP bill. In response, the PPP leader had announced his resignation from office on Monday.
On Tuesday, Qureshi said Gillani “lies”, and he will remain “glued” to the office of the leader of the opposition. “His resignation is nothing but a mere drama”.
The foreign minister said the opposition leader should explain his absence from the Upper House of the Parliament, as his voters were not satisfied with his clarification.
“He has stated that the bill was [added to the agenda overnight]. How could the opposition leader be so naive and unaware?” the foreign minister said.
Commenting on the SBP bill, the foreign minister said it is not right to say that the central bank had been enslaved by foreign bodies. “The State Bank is an autonomous institution.”
Talking to journalists after the Senate session, Gillani said he did not expect Qureshi to “stoop so low” and termed the foreign minister’s speech against him a “contempt of the Senate”. He lashed out at FM Qureshi, saying that he had requested to give a policy statement.
“But instead of a policy statement, he started a tirade against me. The foreign minister has lowered his ethical standards without any reason. I did not expect him to stoop so low,” the PPP leader added.
The Senate session was adjourned till Friday.
