A committee led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will conduct interviews for the position of President of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Saturday.
Sources told ProPakistani that Finance Division has shortlisted candidates for the position of NBP President including acting NBP President Rehmat Ali Hasnie, Adnan Alley Agha, Mudassar H. Khan, Tahir Yaqub Bhatti, Tariq Ghuman, Usman Shahid and Javed Qureshi.
The ministry did not shortlist the acting NBP president in the last appointment process however sources said that he is now the favorite for the President/CEO position due to his connections in allied parties of the coalition government.
Sources said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had also raised audit objections against Hasnie, stating that he got a promotion to the rank of SEVP by cheating/misstatement. The acting president was also involved in the HASCOL scandal.
Reportedly, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also directed NBP to furnish details of 20 officers including Hasnie in an illegal appointments case. He has been performing duties as acting president since May 2022.
The other candidate Adnan Alley Agha was also working in NBP as SEVP & Group Chief/Chief Risk Officer, Risk Management Group. The Auditor General of Pakistan in its interim report also raised audit Para on his appointment.
AGP said that NBP management had extended undue favor to the incumbent at each step. The required rules/policies were neglected in his appointment. Thus, the appointment and payment of pay & allowance amounting to Rs. 24.208 million (Rs. 2,017,382 per month w.e.f. April 2020 to March 2021) was held irregular and unjustified.
Sources said that he faces allegations of taking two salaries at a time (one from NBP and the second from a Manila-based organization) and when an application was moved in FIA on this matter, he left the country.
It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Finance had proposed his name for the NBP president position a few months ago but the cabinet rejected his name and directed the Finance Division to again start the process of appointment.
Another candidate, ex-SEVP NBP Usman Shahid was also involved in the HASCOL scandal and he also remained in FIA custody for a few days and later got bail from court. Currently, he is working as Chief Risk Officer in Bank Islami but banking sector officials believe that he is the most suitable candidate for the position.
Dar-led, lol! The most incompetent person for both his job and this job. Goodbye NBP!