President Alvi signs finance bill to pave way for IMF accord

President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday signed the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023, generally known as the mini-budget, as the government rushed to fulfil the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions to unlock an economic bailout that the country needs to avoid the risk of default. The Prime Minister Secretariat sent the bill to the President Secretariat on Wednesday evening for assent, two days after it was passed by the National Assembly. “The president gave the approval to the bill in accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution,” the media wing of the President House said in a statement today. Under Article 75 (1), the president has no power to reject or object to the finance bill, which is considered to be a money bill as per the Constitution. The article reads “When a Bill is presented to the President for assent, the President shall, within [ten] days,–(a) assent to the Bill; or (b) in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return the Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with a message requesting that the Bill or any specified provision thereof, be reconsidered and that any amendment specified in the message be considered”.