A day after it dropped strong hints about Ishaq Dar being the most suitable candidate for caretaker prime minister, the PML-N appears to be back-pedaling, apparently in the wake of outright rejection of the idea by both its ally PPP and the opposition PTI. While a PPP minister described the report as ‘false’, the PTI chairman said Mr Dar as caretaker PM would be a ‘big joke’.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has stepped down from his post as senior PML-N leader Ishaq Dar is all set to become the country’s new finance czar. The development came on Sunday after an important PML-N meeting was held under the chairmanship of party supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in London, along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Marriyum Aurangzeb.
An accountability court on Friday suspended the arrest warrant against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar and dismissed orders for arrest upon his arrival in Pakistan, paving his way for return to Pakistan. The court, while giving an opportunity to Ishaq Dar to surrender, also ordered that the PML-N leader not be arrested when he lands in Pakistan.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the interior ministry to issue a diplomatic passport to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Shehbaz Sharif after assuming charge of his office got a briefing from the diplomatic staff about the issuance of a passport to Nawaz and Ishaq Dar. However, the diplomatic staff said only Sharif can be issued a diplomatic passport, not Dar.
Stephen Sackur, host of the BBC’s Hardtalk, has said that he enjoyed the “pretty intense” conversation with former finance minister Ishaq Dar. Earlier this month, Sackur had asked some gruelling questions on the show, leaving Dar, at times, at a loss for words. Dar faced grilling in a BBC show in which he sought to dispel the impression that he was evading law.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered Rs500 million from seized bank accounts of former finance minister Ishaq Dar. The amount recovered from the absconding minister has been deposited in the national exchequer. The anti-graft watchdog has also initiated a formal money laundering investigation against Dar. The amount of Rs. 500 million has been recovered from three different accounts of Mr Dar.