Appointment of ‘absconder’ as minister slammed

Provincial cabinet members and leaders of the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have criticised the appointment of an ‘absconder’, Ishaq Dar, as Finance Minister and termed it a failure of the country’s justice system.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister’s Adviser Umar Sarfraz Cheema said the country’s economy was at the brink of default and the imported government has given keys of the public kitty to the “master of money laundering”.

He said all the criminals had been exposed.

“They come into power for their personal gains and saving their looted wealth,” he said.

The adviser claimed that the government had ruined the national economy which was growing at 5.9% annually.

Senior Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif could not be absolved of the responsibility of the failure of the economic policies by blaming former finance minister Miftah Ismail. He alleged that Dar had been absconding in London on the pretext of treatment.

“As soon as he was assured of the ministry, his doctors gave a satisfactory report. The irony is that the one who should be in jail for corruption is being made the custodian of the national treasury,” he said.

The minister underlined that the economy could not be restored without removing the corrupt cabal from power. He said the five-month performance of the government was disappointing. Inflation, unemployment and shutdown of economic activities were the achievements of the ‘imported’ government, he said and added that problems of the people had increased due to its failed economic policies.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2022.