President Alvi administers oath to Ishaq Dar as federal minister

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar took oath on Wednesday as the federal minister, set to replace Dr Miftah Ismail who served a short stint as finance minister for the coalition government, Aaj News reported.

Dar was administered the oath by President Dr Arif Alvi. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended the oath-taking ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr.

Speaking to the media after the ceremony, Dar said that the case filed against him is fake, adding that he has been a consistent taxpayer over the last 34 years and that he never delayed filing his returns.

Dar further said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had cancelled his passport due to which he could not come to Pakistan. "It is the PML-N government that has issued me a passport," Dar said.

While talking about the current economic situation, Dar said that it was because of outgoing finance minister Miftah Ismail that the country averted a default, adding that the mess the PTI government left behind could not be cleared in six months.

Dar said stabilising the local currency and reducing inflation and interest rates are priorities of the government at the moment.

About his previous policy of keeping the rupee strong, Dar said the impression that the government would 'dump' dollars in the market was a “massive lie”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Miftah Ismail had submitted his resignation from the position of finance minister to PM Shehbaz.

Dar then took oath as a senator under the administration of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

The senior PML-N leader arrived in Pakistan on Monday with hope of stabilising the economy that has been battered in the wake of floods and high commodity prices, especially energy. 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.

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

Dar will take the office of finance minister 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.”

“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.