KARACHI: Tariq Bajwa, the outgoing governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has said that he has resigned from the office to avoid confrontation with the government.

Mr Bajwa was replying to a question on a private news channel on Saturday night that as to why he quithis of fice before completing his threeyear term. He said a confrontation between the government and the central bank was not in the interest of the country. `So, I preferred to tender my resignation instead of approaching courts,` he added.

Mr Bajwa said that the country`sinterests were more important than his job. He said he would go to the office on Monday and return after relinquishing the charge.

On Friday evening, Mr Bajwa was asked to resign while he was in Islamabad for talks with the International Monetary Fund.-Monitoring Desk