Ishaq Dar takes oath as Senator ahead of becoming new finance minister

Former and incoming finance minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday took oath as a senator under the administration of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, amid protest from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

In the oath, Dar pledged to practice his duties with honesty and transparency. After the oath, Sanjrani welcomed Dar as a member of the senate. Dar is now set to take oath as finance minister of Pakistan.

Earlier on Tuesday, Miftah Ismail handed in his resignation from the position of finance minister to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Stage set for Dar: Miftah Ismail hands in written resignation

During the senate session, PTI members said that there were many pending cases on Dar while law minister Azam Nazir Tarar pointed out that in 2018, there were pending cases on Arif Alvi as well who assumed the position of President of Pakistan.

PTI leader Shehzad Wasim said that the country is becoming the property of a single family, adding that “the person who ruined this economy in the past has been made incharge of it once again.”

Dar arrived in Pakistan on Monday with hopes of stabilising and strengthening the rupee. He told the media that he would like to pick up the economy where he left it during his 2017 tenure in the same job.

Dar will be taking the finance minister office for the fourth time, this time with the challenge of getting the economy out of one of its worst balance of payment crises that has seen foreign reserves falling to a month of imports.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked me to accept the responsibilities of finance minister,” Dar had said in a statement broadcast on state television on Monday evening.

“By the grace of God, I will try my best to get Pakistan out of this economic rut.”

Economy has been falling, will be trying to change its direction: Ishaq Dar

“God is sending me back to the same office,” he said, referring to the finance ministry he quit after he flew to London in 2017 for medical check-ups amid pending corruption cases, which he says were politically motivated.

His arrest warrants have been suspended by an anti-graft court until October 7, making his return to Pakistan possible.

The IMF board last month approved the seventh and eighth reviews of a bailout programme, allowing for a release of over $1.1 billion.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani rupee appreciated for the third successive session to close at Rs233.91 against the US dollar, bolstered by Dar’s arrival to the country.

Dar has favoured a strong currency in his previous tenures as finance minister — from 1998 to 1999, then in 2008 and again from 2013 to 2017.