ISLAMABAD - Feeling comfortable with acting Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, the federal government on Monday appointed him as new governor of the central bank for the next three years.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed Wathra as Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for next three years. He was working as acting Governor for the last three months. He was appointed as acting Governor SBP when the post was vacant after the resignation of Yaseen Anwar from the top slot of central bank on January 30 2014.
“Yes, the PM has appointed Ashraf Mahmood Wathra as new Governor State Bank of Pakistan,” said Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood Khan while talking to The Nation.
The federal government was legally bound to appoint new governor SBP before April 30, 2014. According to the SBP act 1956, the federal government has to appoint new governor before April 30, 2014. The SBP act states the government has to appoint new governor SBP within three months after the vacation of the post.
Sources said that Wathra has tried his best to become full fledge governor of the central bank, in which he succeeded. Similarly, the government was also feeling comfortable with Wathra, as he was following the policies of the Finance Ministry.
The former Governor SBP Yaseen Anwar had resigned from the post due to serious differences with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar over the economic policies.
The sources in Finance Ministry informed that the government has considered several other names for the post of Governor SBP, which included Muneer Kamal and Aurangzeb Khan, who is a close relative of former judge of Supreme Court Khalilur Rehman Ramday.