ISLAMABAD: The government came under opposition fire in the National Assembly on Friday over the allegedly forced resignation of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, Yaseen Anwar, but had no immediate response to charges that the act was forced by the finance ministry and undermined the autonomy of the country’s central bank.

The attack was mounted by lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) a day after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the acceptance of the resignation, one of them linking the move to what he called “an assault” of the eight-month-old government on the country’s financial institutions.

The finance minister, who announced the acceptance of Mr Anwar’s resignation in a statement issued on Thursday, was not present in the house nor any other cabinet member came forward to respond after a PTI lawmaker from Karachi, Arif Alvi, first voiced his fears that the country’s top banking official had resigned under pressure from the finance ministry rather than for unexplained and officially stated “personal reasons”.

But two other party lawmakers came down quite hard on the government, recalling some of its recent orders to remove the heads of National Database and Registration Authority, Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority, and Pakistan Cricket Board and its failure to fill up vacancies of key positions such as heads of the Election Commission of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Competition Commission of Pakistan.

A vocal PTI member from Lahore, Shafqat Mahmood, saw the advent of a “dangerous trend” akin to that of the 1990s when, he said, banks were “looted” though non-repayment of loans granted to government favourites, leading to the institution of cases, some implicating even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The party’s member from Islamabad, Asad Omar, while talking of a “systemic assault” on financial institutions, warned against a “tremendous harm” that he said could be done to the country’s economy.

FIRST LEGISLATION: Before hearing of such forebodings on the economic front, the house could take some comfort in coming close to its first legislative work during eight months of its life in receiving reports of its standing committee on interior and narcotics control recommending the adoption of three key presidential ordinances as bills that the government says will help it fight terrorism.

That signalled hopes that the house could pass the three bills, including one containing the controversial Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, which gives law-enforcement agencies powers to shoot suspects at sight and detain them for up to 90 days without trial, some time next week and before ending the present session on Feb 7.

Two other bills relate to two ordinances seeking amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.

Earlier, soon after the question hour, the 342-seat house was found lacking its quorum of 86 members for the second day running when Speaker Sardar Ayaz adjourned it for some time. But it reassembled later with improved attendance.