Continuing its criticism over the appointments of Dr Reza Baqir of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as adviser to the prime minister on finance, the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has feared that the country's nuclear programme may come under threat after appointment in key positions of "IMF representatives
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 06th May, 2019) Continuing its criticism over the appointments of Dr Reza Baqir of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as adviser to the prime minister on finance, the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has feared that the country's nuclear programme may come under threat after appointment in key positions of "IMF representatives".
"Seeing the intentions of [Prime Minister] Imran Khan, the nation should be worried about Pakistan's nuclear capability," said PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb in a statement on Sunday.Ms Aurangzeb, who served as information minister in the previous government of the PML-N, alleged the premier had handed over the country to "the East India Company", a reference to the British trade company through which Britain established its rule in the Indian sub-continent in the 18th century.
However, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan defended the government's decision and termed Dr Baqir a "pride of Pakistan".Late on Saturday night, the government had announced that Dr Baqir had been appointed as the SBP governor to serve for a three-year term.An Aitchison alumnus, Dr Baqir earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in Economics and had been serving the IMF for the past 16 years.
He was heading the IMF's debt policy division and worked on IMF policies on external debt sustainability and restructuring of member countries.He will be the second IMF official to head the State Bank as before him Dr Mohammad Yaqub had been brought from the IMF to head the SBP between 1993 and 1999.Ms Aurangzeb said Pakistan's sovereignty had been "compromised and this time the East India Company did not even need to fight because the incompetent prime minister dished it out to the IMF on a platter".
