Opposition wants Dar’s immediate resignation

Says voice demanding finance minister’s ouster will be raised in all assemblies

LAHORE: The opposition benches demanded the resignation of Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, suggesting the ministry be given to a person who is ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’.

The demand came through a resolution submitted by opposition leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed in the Punjab Assembly. He asked what sort of impression was being given to other countries when the finance minister was a “money launderer”.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Rasheed said that a voice will be raised in all assemblies of the provinces against Ishaq Dar. He said resolutions and adjournment motions would be filed in the coming days to demand his resignation.

He added opposition parties would record their protests inside and outside the Punjab Assembly when the session gets underway. He said the finance minister would not be spared as he was not only damaging the image of the country, but also risking the national economy.

He said the moral values had disappeared from society and he found it ridiculous that the finance minister was himself accused of money laundering charges. In the resolution which he submitted to the Punjab Assembly, the opposition leader said finance minister Ishaq Dar tarnished the image of Pakistan all over the world. Yet the same man is serving as finance minister, he added.

He further maintained that the condition of the country’s economy had been ruined, while tall claims of economic progress were a false dawn. He said only the finance minister was responsible for wrong economic policies which brought the country to the edge of destruction. He demanded the federal government ensure the resignation of Dar and that the ministry be given to a suitable individual to run affairs.

On Wednesday, an accountability court in the federal capital indicted Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for amassing assets beyond his known sources of income and directed the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidence. Appearing before the accountability judge, Dar pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference filed against him on the orders of Supreme Court in its July 28 judgment in the Panamagate case.

It was a closed-door hearing and only Dar, his counsel, a group of supporting lawyers, and federal State Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, were allowed entry into the court.

In the reference, NAB has alleged that Dar “acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx) as per investigation conducted so far”.

However, it was yet to determine the role of NBP president and others over their alleged involvement in “aiding and abetting” the finance minister in making a 91-fold increase in his assets.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2017.