Islamabad:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set up a committee to review the proposal to appoint dual nationals as governors and deputy governors of the State Bank while directing the cabinet division to consult with Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervez Malik on economic affairs.
According to sources, the federal cabinet on Monday delayed the approval of Minister of State Ali Pervez Malik on the objection that the Finance Minister had not consulted him on the proposed State Bank Amendment Bill.
According to the Rules of Business, 1973, any summary is approved by the concerned Federal Minister before being submitted to the Cabinet.
In the cabinet meeting, Ali Pervez Malik’s stand was that before any summary is presented in the cabinet, he should be consulted, otherwise he will not support the summary. According to the sources, this is not the first case of ignoring the ministers of state on important issues.
The Attorney General told the Cabinet that his office endorsed a summary of which he was unaware.
On this, the Prime Minister directed the Cabinet Division to ensure the consultation of the Ministers of State on all issues, however, in the Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Finance has proposed about a dozen amendments in the State Bank Act, which have also been examined by the Ministry of Law.
The proposed amendments include the appointment of dual nationals as governors and deputy governors of the State Bank and legalization of the use of digital currency.
Sources said that some members of the cabinet had proposed to exempt certain positions from the ban on dual citizenship, on this the prime minister directed the cabinet division to form a committee for a comprehensive review of the proposed bill before submitting it to the cabinet.
