NEW DELHI: It became apparent on Monday that the shock elevation of Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar, a close friend of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was actually “pre-planned” and is apparently a move to” cause” the PML-N chairman for the loss of the fund portfolio. Shehbaz Sharif appointed Dar, a chartered accountant and veteran politician from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ( PML-N) party, as deputy prime minister on Sunday, with the appointment taking effect immediately and for a while until further notice.
Shehbaz Sharif and Dar are currently attending the World Economic Forum’s ( WEF ) special meeting in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Dawn paper, Dar’s new visit” took many by shock, but drew almost any criticism from its supporters’.
Dare being” awarded’ the “rarely filled’ casino of deputy prime minister has raised some issues, the statement said.
The main contention is that PML-N chairman Nawaz Sharif wants to place his” contrarian” in a significant place in the federal government to” account him for the loss of the fund portfolio,” according to the statement.
The review also noted that the incident was related to Nawaz Sharif taking over as president of the ruling PML-N group, a place he had been denied after serving as a result of his conviction in the Panama Papers case.
Due to the marriage-related home bond that Dar has with Nawaz Sharif, and the fact that his brother is married to the child of the elder Sharif, is perceived as having a close relationship with him.
An outsider claimed that the shift to nominate Dar as deputy prime minister was” post- planned’, the statement said. It was agreed that Dar may serve as the Deputy Prime Minister when the alliance government was formed.
However, according to a report from Geo News, the decision to appoint a four-time finance minister as the country’s foreign minister indicates an increased emphasis on economics as the financially struggling country searches for another agreement with the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) and increases the availability of foreign capital funding.
Dare served as finance minister from 1998 to 1999, and he did the same thing once in March to May 2008. He once more headed the funding department from 2013 to 2017 and afterwards from 2022 to 2023. Moreover, he served as the minister of commerce from December 1997 to October 1999 as well as the minister for industry and funding from February 1997 to July 1997.
According to the document from Dawn, during Nawaz Sharif’s career as the prime secretary, Dar served as the de facto deputy prime minister, leading many state and political committees in the ability of chairperson. Dare is the next senator to take on this role, despite the Constitution’s prohibition against creating a delivery for a deputy prime minister.
When the Pakistan People’s Party ( PPP ) was in power from June 25, 2012, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi served as its deputy prime minister. His duties were mostly symbolic during that time, and Asif Ali Zardari, the president at the time, recognized him for his support of the PPP-led authorities.
Elahi is currently serving as the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ( PTI ) party led by the detained former prime minister Imran Khan, and he is serving as president due to corruption allegations. He is also currently serving as president of the PTI party.
Ironically, the Pakistan Peoples Party ( PPP ), the principal supporter of the PML- N- led state, did not raise any criticism to Dar’s new interview. The PPP Information Secretary, Faisal Karim Kundi, stated that his group had no objections to Dar’s visit as the deputy prime minister. ” It is the PM’s right to assign Dar as deputy prime minister”, he said, adding that the shift was never meant as a “message’ to people.
However, Khan’s PTI on Monday reacted strongly to Dar’s visit as the deputy prime minister, saying” Sharifs are distributing essential national content within the home’.
According to Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister for Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif,” the Sharif family is distributing important national posts among themselves.”
The PTI leader criticized the federal government for appointing individuals to high-ranking positions rather than addressing the issues that the people face because the Constitution does not allow for the appointment of a deputy prime minister.
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency ( Pildat ) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob criticized the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government’s move as” an extra-constitutional step that carries no substantial value.”
This only points to intra-party tensions and a fight for control. We should be focusing on substantive issues rather than making trivial and inconsequential decisions at this critical stage of our nation’s life and the lowest point of our economic situation, according to The News, who quoted Mehboob.
( With inputs from agencies )
