The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to hold thorough consultations with all stakeholders including the business community on the proposed amendment Bill 2021 of SBP so that it is finalized by addressing concerns and reservations of all stakeholders and is not passed into law in haste to meet the demands of the lender of last resort.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the central banks play an important role in the economic development and growth of countries as they contribute towards the stability of the financial system and improve access to credit for the private sector. However, according to the proposed bill, supporting economic policies of the government will no longer be deemed as a primary goal of SBP, which has created many concerns in the business community. He said that one of the main objectives of SBP is to take initiatives for ensuring price stability to save people from rising inflation, but SBP in the past remained unsuccessful multiple times to ensure price stability. He said that one disturbing proposal in the bill is about the immunity of SBP from NAB and the FIA, however, he raised questions about who will make SBP accountable in case it fails to ensure price stability in future.
ICCI President said that the IMF programs have always given rise to high inflation in Pakistan due to which people have suffered great problems while the squeezed purchasing power of people also led to significant decline in the business activities. He urged that the government should include an inflation target in the proposed bill to make it beneficial and more people friendly so that inflation should remain under control and people are saved from the problems of rising prices.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that the Transparency International has also raised objections to the proposed amendments in the SBP Act 1956, therefore, he emphasized that the government should move forward with utmost care on this important issue and take all stakeholders fully on board so that all concerns and reservations are addressed before passing proposed amendment into a law. He said that the amendments in SBP Act should not be made under any pressure from IMF, rather amendments should be made in a manner that should promote the business and economic interests of Pakistan instead of promoting the agenda of any vested interests.