The law granting SBP autonomy will undoubtedly be repealed.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif expressed his dissatisfaction with the autonomy granted to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during the PTI-led government’s tenure.

Following the previous government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resurrect a $6 billion loan, the central bank was given autonomous status.

The SBP Act, 1956 was revised for this purpose by the SBP (Amendment) Act, 2021, in order to improve central bank autonomy, price stability, and accountability.

However, Asif told Geo News’ “Capital Talk” that the laws that the previous government altered to fulfil the IMF’s criteria were still erroneous and needed to be withheld in an interview.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan “sold away” Pakistan’s economic sovereignty to the United States, according to the defense minister, because Washington has the majority shares in the IMF.

“As the largest shareholder in the IMF, America has a lot of stakes in the organization. “When Imran Khan turned over our central bank — our bank of last resort — to the IMF, he sold up our economic sovereignty to them,” he stated.

The defense minister stated that the coalition government will reverse the decision and restore Pakistan’s economic sovereignty, but added that the central bank would be allowed monetary policy independence.

“I will definitely ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” he responded when asked if he would raise the concerns with him.