-President to administer Oath to Dar at Aiwan-e-Sadar
– Miftah formally resigns as Finance Minister to pave way for Ishaq Dar
-Plea seeking Dar’s disqualification withdrawn from ECP
-Imran warns to hamper Dar’s plans
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: PML-N leader Ishaq Dar on Tuesday took oath as a senator during a swearing-in ceremony at the Senate after living five years in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom.
Dar had been successfully elected to the Senate from Punjab but had been out of the country since October 2017. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani administered the oath amid the ruckus created by the Opposition. PTI members tore the copies of the agenda of the meeting to register their protest and also surrounded the dais.
The Senate chairman directed all members to maintain the decorum of the Upper House as Dar continued to receive felicitations from members of the coalition parties.
The politician, who touched down in Pakistan with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday night, will swear in as the Federal Finance Minister today (Wednesday) at 10am.
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Miftah Ismail formally resigned from the post of finance minister on Tuesday, paving the way for party stalwart Ishaq Dar to take over.
In his resignation letter dated September 27, Ismail wrote “I wish to resign from the position of minister of finance and revenue with immediate effect.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my country in your [Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s] administration, which was an honour and a privilege.”
President Arif Alvi will administer the oath to Dar at Aiwan-e-Sadar. All arrangements for the oath-taking ceremony will be completed by early morning.
Blaming the hundi and hawala businesses, Dar said that the rupee’s value has been kept low artificially, adding that such practices cannot hold the local currency hostage.
In a question-and-answer break during the Senate session, Dar said that the US dollar depreciated by around Rs10 against the rupee since he landed in the country, stating that one of the problems faced by the country is the artificial depreciation of the rupee. “Inflation is also high,” he said listing the issues that the coalition government has to fix.
Referring to the winning streak of the rupee in the market, the PML-N leader said that the country’s debt reduced by Rs1,350 billion in less than 24 hours. He also stressed the need for amendments to the previous finance bill.
“I have returned to my country by the grace of God. I will try my best to pull Pakistan out of the [economic] maelstrom it is surrounded with,” Dar had said earlier.
He shared that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and the PM have handed over the responsibility of the finance ministry to him. “[We] pulled Pakistan out of an economic maelstrom back in 1998 and 2013,” the incoming finance minister said.
Dar has returned to “facilitate” the government in its efforts to resurrect the cash-strapped economy by taking over the key portfolio of the finance ministry.
Meanwhile, a plea seeking the disqualification of PML-N leader Ishaq Dar has been withdrawn from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after the petitioner said he would approach a higher forum to pursue the case. Advocate Azhar Siddique had filed a plea with the ECP earlier this year seeking disqualification of Dar.
“It is respectfully submitted that I want to withdraw present petition with permission to file fresh if so needed. As the ECP is not a court and interpretation is involved in this case in view of judgments of the Supreme Court dated PLD 2018 SC 189, 2015 SCMR 1303, 2021 SCMR 1675, PLD 2018 Sindh 263, we may file an alternate remedy as well,” the petitioner said in his handwritten statement to the ECP.
Siddique’s assistant counsel, Muhammad Shoaib, told the ECP that his client will approach a higher forum for further pursuance of the case. The ECP directed him to submit a written statement, which was later submitted before the electoral body.
A day ago, the ECP reserved the verdict on a petition seeking to declare Dar’s Senate seat as ‘vacant’ over his failure to take the oath as Senator since March 2018.
Under an ordinance, promulgated by the president, the seat of a lawmaker would be deemed to have become vacant if the member failed to take oath within 60 days, an ECP member earlier observed at the hearing.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Tuesday warned that he will obstruct PML-N leader Ishaq Dar’s plans, saying that Pakistan’s treasury is being handed over to someone who had been an “absconder for the last five years.”
Speaking during the Ulema and Mashaikh Convention in Peshawar, the former prime minister alleged that Dar had made a deal under National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) before returning to Pakistan.
“It is unfortunate that the justice system could not stop Ishaq Dar,” he added. “A fugitive, after stealing billions of rupees, was roaming freely abroad and was taking decisions for Pakistan.”
Comparing Muslim states with European countries, Khan said that there was only 20% of rule of law in Muslim countries. “If you want to see justice, then go to Switzerland. There is a 100% rule of law there,” he added. He continued to say that those who want to see a welfare state should go to Sweden and Britain.
Speaking about his aide Shahbaz Gill’s arrest and alleged torture, the former premier said that JUI-F chief Fazl-ur-Rehman was part of a government where these cruel acts were taking place. “Sixty per cent of people belonging to this cabinet are out on bail,” he said.
Khan also spoke about the country’s economy while taking a jibe at the leaders in the government. He said that the economy has deteriorated while unemployment was increasing and these leaders have only come to hide their corruption cases and not to serve the nation.
