ISLAMABAD – The government on Saturday appointed Dr Reza Baqir as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as Islamabad seeks to finalise a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The President of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Dr Reza Baqir as Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a period of three years from the date he assumes office,” read a notification from the government issued late Saturday night.
A Harvard and Berkeley University of California alumnus, Dr Baqir has been with the IMF since 2000 and is presently the Fund’s senior resident representative in Egypt. He has previously served as the head of the IMF Mission for Romania, and as Head of the Fund’s Debt Policy Division.
Baqir’s appointment comes a day after Tariq Bajwa resigned from the post of SBP governor.
Meanwhile, the government appointed Ahmed Mujtaba Memon on the post of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, which also fell vacant on Friday after the removal of Jahanzeb Khan, the chairman of the tax collection body.
