Asia - Pacific

Pakistan gets new finance minister amid struggling economy

Ishaq Dar, 2-time top financial official, returns from London after 5-year self-exile

28.09.2022 - Update : 28.09.2022
Pakistan gets new finance minister amid struggling economy Credit: @FinMinistryPak

KARACHI, Pakistan 

Senator Ishaq Dar took oath as Pakistan's new finance minister on Wednesday amid the country's struggling economy. 

President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the new finance minister at the President's Office in the capital Islamabad, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

Dar, who returned from London after a five-year self-exile earlier this week, has replaced Miftah Ismail, who had been under severe criticism for his mediocre handling of the economy, especially the rising inflation, and fuel and energy prices.

A chartered accountant by profession, Dar was re-elected as a senator in absentia in 2019.

A close friend of former prime minister and supremo of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group), Nawaz Sharif, Dar has already served as the country's top financial official twice and is known for his economic expertise.

Facing a case for allegedly possessing assets beyond the source of income, he had flown to London in 2017.

He has been appointed as the finance minister at a time when the South Asian nuclear country is reeling from devastating rains and floods, which have inundated a third of Pakistan, aside from inflicting a whopping $28 billion losses, mainly in terms of infrastructure and agriculture.

Also referred to as "Darnomics" because of a mix of conventional and unconventional approaches to handling the economy, Dar had been able to maintain the value of the rupee against the dollar during his last stint from 2013 to 2017.

His strategy was, however, criticized by many, who viewed it as detrimental to the country's exports.

Although the rupee, already hitting an all-time low against the dollar, has slightly regained its value with a significant stock market spike, economists, nonetheless, reckon that the revival of the country's tottering economy will be a Herculean task for the new finance minister given the rising global economic meltdown and staggering financial losses caused by the recent super floods.


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