ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday appointed Dr Reza Baqir – a Pakistani economist working for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, as Islamabad seeks to finalise a bailout package from the global lender.
A Harvard and Berkeley university alumnus, Dr Baqir has been with the IMF since 2000 and is currently 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.
Sources in the Finance Ministry told media that consultations are still underway over candidates for the post of the chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which also fell vacant after the removal of Jahanzeb Khan, the chairman of the tax collection body, on Friday.
The sources added that the names of Dr Ahmed Mujtaba Memon, who is currently an additional secretary in the Finance Division, and Javed Ghani, member Customs Policy are being considered for the role of FBR chairman.
