ISLAMABAD: PML-N leader Ishaq Dar is expected to take oath as the finance minister on Tuesday and sitting Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has tendered his resignation before the arrival of Dar in Pakistan.
The decision to appoint Ishaq Dar as Finance Minister was taken in London meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. Senator-elect Ishaq Dar is arriving in Islamabad along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tonight.
Tomorrow (Sept 26), he is expected to appear before the anti-corruption court to secure his bail and then he will take oath as Senator, as per original London Plan of the PML-trio (Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar).
On Saturday Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed that Dar is returning to Pakistan next week. Dar will appear in the court soon after landing in Islamabad and then he will take oath as Senator.
Dar himself said on Friday that he will take oath as a Senator after reaching Islamabad. Soon after oath-taking, Dar will be notified as the Finance Minister in place of Miftah Ismail, Geo TV claimed on Saturday.
On Friday, an accountability court in Islamabad suspended arrest warrants for former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar until October 7. The court said it would revoke the orders once the accused appeared in the court.
If Dar gets bail after appearing in the court, he would take oath as Senator to become Finance Minister. After the exit of Miftah Ismail, there will be no major hurdle in the way of Dar to take the most coveted position of Finance Minister, the second most power politician after Prime Minister.
PM Shehbaz, along with Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb reached London after attending the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York a day earlier. He is leaving for Pakistan on Sunday.
Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz and Nawaz Sharif also discussed the ongoing situation in the country and measures taken by the sitting coalition government.
They also discussed the strategy to deal with PTI Chief Imran Khan’s call for a long march, and ending PTI’s government in Punjab were also expected to be part of the discussion.
It was further learnt that the final decision regarding the elections, whether they should be conducted earlier or not, will also likely be taken.
The PML-N leaders were also expected to devise a strategy for expediting verdicts in the cases registered against Imran Khan.
