Uproar in Pakistan's National Assembly after passing of SBP Bill, Mini Budget

Pakistan opposition parties restored to a ruckus in the National Assembly after the passing of the State of Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Bill and Mini Budget.

The National Assembly on Thursday passed the controversial Finance (Supplementary) Bill, generally known as the "mini-budget", and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 during an hours-long session amid fierce objection from the opposition benches, according to Dawn.

Earlier, the finance bill and the SBP bill, both tabled on December 30 in the National Assembly were necessary to ensure that Pakistan's sixth review of the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility gets cleared by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board.

Pakistan's economy is on the ventilator and inflation is at a 22-month high, any government that heeds the cries of the people protesting out in the streets would have put this mini-budget to bed a long time ago, the Opposition parties alleged.

On the other hand, inflation in Pakistan has skyrocketed to a massive 12-30 per cent in December last year and had jumped form 11.50 per cent in November 2021.

Further, Finance ( Supplementary) Bill 2021 also known as mini-budget seeks to amend certain laws on taxes and duties to meet the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) conditions for the clearance of Pakistan's sixth review of the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) by the financial institution, paving way for the disbursement of a trance of around USD 1 billion.

( With inputs from ANI )

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