Pakistan Opposition to move court against SBP amendment bill

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 30 : Pakistan opposition has decided to challenge the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the court a day after the Senate approved it with a one-vote majority, local media reported.
According to sources privy to the development, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has begun consultations over the bill and would consult Aitzaz Ahsan and Latif Khosa over the matter, ARY News reported.
"The State Bank amendment bill is against national security," he said adding that the controversial bill could not be accepted at any cost.
The government approved the bill in Senate through forgery, Bilawal said and announced that the party would not accept the bill and will challenge it in court, ARY News reported.
The Senate on Friday passed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Amendment Bill, with the majority vote.
The bill was presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin amid ruckus in the house by the opposition members. The SBP Amendment Bill was supported by 44 senators, while 43 voted against it.
The passage of the bill is one of the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of USD 1 billion to the country, Dawn reported.
It further reported that opposition parties have been voicing strong concerns over the SBP bill, saying it compromises Pakistan's "economic sovereignty and gives absolute authority to the SBP to take key economic decisions independently".
The SBP Amendment Bill, 2021, promises complete autonomy to the central bank and places a complete restriction on the government's borrowing from the central bank. However, the government now can borrow at a market rate from commercial banks, which will benefit private banks owned by business elites, according to the opposition, Dawn reported.