PM Imran convenes cabinet meeting to discuss mini-budget

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a special session of the federal cabinet on Thursday as earlier cabinet deferred approval of the supplementary finance bill which was scheduled to be tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday (today).

Reports in local media said the session is expected to see approval of the supplementary finance bill.

The opposition has started consultations to counter mini-budget and other government bills. The opposition alliance has also approached the coalition partners of the ruling party to stop the passage of the mini-budget.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in a post-cabinet meeting said the cabinet deferred the supplementary finance bill as it wants a threadbare discussion on it before presenting it to the parliament for passage.

He said a special meeting of the cabinet would be held soon on a one-point agenda and the bill would be presented in the current session of the parliament and an initial discussion on the draft was held in the cabinet meeting.

On Tuesday, the federal cabinet approved the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) amendment bill to give absolute autonomy to the central bank in a bid to qualify for the $1 billion loan.

The cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Imran Khan cleared the revised draft of the SBP amendment bill, 2021. The bill has been approved to bring amendments in the SBP Act of 1956 under one of the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and on the desire of the SBP governor.