ISLAMABAD: Senate on Friday passed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 with a majority.
The bill was presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin amid ruckus in the Upper House by opposition members. The SBP Amendment Bill was supported by 44 senators, while 43 voted against it.
The federal government had sought time to present the SBP Amendment Bill in the Senate as a number of the treasury benches members missing from the session. Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani said that the bill is on the agenda of the Senate but he cannot take action if the govenrnment was delaying it.
Opposition Senators reached ruckus and stood at their seats chanting slogans against the government. They rged the treasury benches to lay the SBP Amendment Bill before the house.
Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani asked the Senators to start a discussion on President Arif Alvi’s speech to the joint sitting of the Parliament but the lawmakers refused. Sanjrani adjourned the crucial session for 30 minutes before the final vote.
As the session started, the chairman reprimanded the members over not wearing face masks as the cases of the coronavirus have increased again. He also ordered the administration to provide the masks to everyone.
The bill is aimed at facilitating domestic economic stability, supporting sustainable growth and avoid repeated booms and busts that have characterized Pakistan’s past and led to painful consequences in terms of higher inflation, higher poverty and lower growth. It also balances the provision of necessary operational and financial autonomy to the State Bank with a new mechanism for enhancing transparency and strengthening accountability.
Small airports
The Senate was informed that the government is taking steps to make small airports of the country operational. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said commercial traffic stands suspended at different airports due to non-availability of commercial airlines.
Ali Muhammad Khan assured that there will be no discrimination with any province regarding commencement of domestic flight operations. He said a decision will be made on the commercial viability of routes.
The House also passed “The National Metrology Institute of Pakistan Bill, 2022” which was laid by Minister for Science and Technology Syed Shibli Faraz.
At the outset of the session, the House offered Fateha for the soldiers, who were martyred in a terrorist attack on a security forces’ check post in Balochistan’s Kech district. Senator Mushtaq Ahmad led the prayer. The House will now meet again on Monday.
