Ishaq Dar, was sworn in as a senator on Tuesday during a ceremony at the Senate. He had spent the previous five years in self-imposed exile in the UK.
Dar had been elected to the Senate from Punjab, however since October 2017, he had left the country.
While the Opposition was making a scene, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani gave the oath. To show their opposition, PTI members tore up copies of the meeting’s agenda and surrounded the dais.
Read More: PML-N leader Ishaq Dar gets jail-free card
Dar was still receiving congratulations from members of the coalition parties when the Senate chairman issued a directive to all senators to uphold the Upper House’s decorum.
The politician will take the oath of office as the federal finance minister tomorrow (September 28) at 10am after arriving in Pakistan with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday evening.
At Aiwan-e-Sadar, President Arif Alvi will swear Dar in. By tomorrow morning, all preparations for the oath-taking ceremony will be finished.
Dar claimed that the value of the rupee has been intentionally kept low and blamed the hundi and hawala industries, noting that these activities cannot keep the local currency hostage.
During a question-and-answer period in the Senate session, Dar stated that the artificial depreciation of the rupee is one of the issues the nation is dealing with. He claimed that the US dollar has lost almost Rs 10 against the rupee since he arrived in the nation.
He continued, citing the problems that the coalition administration must resolve, “Inflation is also high.”
The PML-N leader claimed that due to the rupee’s recent market gains, the country’s debt dropped by Rs. 1,350 billion in less than 24 hours. He also emphasised the necessity of amending the prior finance measure.
By God’s grace, I’ve made my way back to my native country. Dar had earlier stated, “I will do everything in my power to rescue Pakistan from the [economic] hurricane that it is engulfed in.
He revealed that the PM and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had given him control of the finance ministry.
The new finance minister declared, “[We] rescued Pakistan out of an economic maelstrom back in 1998 and 2013,” Dar has returned to “assist” the government’s efforts to revive the cash-strapped economy by assuming control of the finance ministry’s crucial responsibilities.
Prior to Dar’s arrival, Miftah Ismail resigned from her position as finance minister in accordance with the party’s resolution. Nawaz Sharif, PM Shehbaz, and other PML-N leaders attended a meeting in London where the choice was finalised. Several national concerns were thoroughly explored at the session.
During the meeting, Miftah tendered Nawaz his resignation and thanked him for giving him the opportunity to manage the ministry, a PML-N spokesperson said.
Miftah also said that over the last four months, he performed to the best of his abilities and remained loyal to his party as well as the country. However, he will continue to remain part of the government.