Following the issuance of a summary from the Ministry of Finance, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a ministerial committee to propose names to the federal cabinet for Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a five-year term.
Last week, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told the media that a full-term governor of the SBP would be selected in a week.
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The Ministry of Finance has forwarded the official summary to the Prime Minister’s Office, and a list of six candidates has been proposed, which include Saeed Ahmed, former President National Bank of Pakistan, Asim Hussain, former IMF official, Syed Murtaza, Acting Governor SBP, and Zafar Masud, President Bank of Punjab. The names of Deputy Governor SBP Mohammad Jamil and former Governor SBP Ashraf Khan are also mentioned in the report as viable candidates for the top role in the SBP.
The selection is expected to be done on Tuesday by the coalition government as federal government’s meeting is scheduled with the Prime Minister. The PMLN has proposed three names including Asim Hussain, Saeed Ahmed and Murtaza Syed. On the other hand, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) proposed the names of Ashraf Khan and President Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud. Asim Hussain, Zafar Masud, and Acting Governor SBP are three strong candidates for the office of Governor SBP.
Zafar Masud also held the position of Director General of the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS). He is one of those lucky persons who survived an aircraft crash near the Karachi airport a few years ago, when the Covid-19 outbreak was at its worst.
Dr. Murtaza Syed was appointed as Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan by the Federal Government for a period of three years, in pursuance of Section 10(4) of the State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956 (amended). He assumed his responsibilities on January 27, 2020. Dr. Syed has more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy making. He worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 16 years before resigning to join SBP.