ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s mainstream opposition parties on Monday slammed the appointment of Dr. Reza Baqir, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist, as the new head of the Pakistan’s central bank for a term of three years, alleging that this could compromise the country’s national security.

Baqir’s appointment late Saturday night comes amid Pakistan’s vital ongoing talks with the Fund for a bailout package to stave off a balance of payments crisis and shore up the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

The new governor of the central bank earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in Economics and has been working with the IMF for the last 16 years. He served as the chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division and worked on IMF policies on external debt sustainability and restructuring of member countries. He also helped design debt and fiscal policies for crisis-hit countries like Greece and Ukraine, among others.

“The biggest concern for the country’s financial sector at the moment is how this person was selected for the coveted position when he never came to Pakistan before his appointment and was never interviewed for the job,” Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior member and former State Minister for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan told Arab News.

He said the government has appointed a “foreign national” as governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), bypassing a parliamentary democratic system of governance on one of the “most sensitive positions” in the country.

“Our national security in terms of economy is more important than the border security … and the institutions who routinely talk about the national security are also silent on it,” he added.

Pointing out Baqir’s “long affiliation with the IMF,” Khan said that “this can compromise the autonomy of the state bank.”

Pakistan’s central bank is mandated under the law to regulate the monetary and credit system of the country, and to foster its growth with a view to securing monetary stability and fuller utilization of the country’s productive resources.

The IMF predicted in its report last month that Pakistan’s GDP growth rate will slow down to 2.9 percent during the current fiscal year FY19, further dropping to 2.8 percent in FY20, unless its program was accepted and meaningful reforms were initiated to stabilize the economy.

“His [Dr. Baqir] appointment comes at a time when Pakistan is entering into an IMF program, so questions on his credentials, procedure and timing of the appointment are obvious,” Pakistan Peoples Party’s lawmaker and former Finance Minister Naveed Qamar told Arab News.

“We fear that Dr. Baqir is appointed to implement the monetary policy as dictated by the IMF, in contrast to Pakistan’s interests,” he said reflecting his party’s fears. The State Bank is mandated to look after the country’s exchange rate and monetary policy, therefore it has a “major role in stabilization of the economy,” he added questioning the commitment of the new central bank’s chief to take bold steps for economic revival.

Senior economist Dr. Salman Shah, however, differed from the opposition’s viewpoint, saying that Dr. Baqir “is a bright professional and has served in the IMF at different positions, and his years of experience will help Pakistan stabilize its economy.”

“His appointment is quite appropriate for Pakistan … his experience will also help in designing a program for the IMF loan package as this is important to strengthen our economy at this stage,” he told Arab News.