Under the guidance of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the finance ministry conducted interviews for the position of President of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Wednesday. A panel led by Ishaq Dar reportedly conducted the interviews, narrowing down 14 applicants for the job.
The shortlisted candidates for the President of NBP include Abdul Ghani, Abdul Razaq, Naheed Sultana, Syed Ghazanfar, Mustafa Hamdani, Tariq Javed, Muhammad Abdullah, Imran Sarwar, Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti, Farrukh Iqbal, Khurshid Zafar, Hassan Raza, Tahir Hassan Qureshi, and Javed Kureshi.
The interviews were rescheduled by the Ministry of Finance on August 13, without providing any explanation. Currently, Rehmat Ali Hasnie is managing NBP’s day-to-day operations as the acting president.
In response to the interviews conducted by the Ministry of Finance without following the NBP law, the Chief Organizer of the NBP personnel union and shareholder sent a letter to the Finance Minister, raising concerns about potential legal issues and violations of the rulings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The Chief Organizer expressed concern over the lack of adherence to the NBP Ordinance 1949, the Bank’s Nationalization Act 1974, and the judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He emphasized the significance of NBP as a national institution and called for transparency and due diligence in the appointment process to preserve the institution’s integrity.
The letter urged the Ministry of Finance to cancel the interviews conducted without proper procedures and to make a new announcement for interviews in accordance with the NBP Ordinance of 1949 and the Bank’s Nationalization Act of 1974, while also adhering to the SBP Fit and Proper Test (FPT) for the appointment of the President of NBP.
