Alvi, Shehbaz discuss audio leaks, economic situation

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held his second meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday, wherein they discussed the latest audio leaks and the economic situation of the country.

Sources said that the meeting was held prior to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar’s swearing-in as the country’s finance minister.

During the meeting, the premier informed the president about his meetings with various heads of state during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

This is the second time the two held a meeting since Shehbaz’s ascension to power after ousting former premier Imran Khan.

It is pertinent to note that last month, amid growing political volatility, President Alvi had offered to reach out to both PM Shehbaz and former premier and Pakistan PTI chief Imran Khan to thaw the political impasse over a spate of thorny issues and find a broad consensus for fresh elections and a charter of economy.

Later, Dar, who managed to become the finance czar once again, was sworn in at the President House, where the president administered the oath of office to him.

Prime Minister Shehbaz, along with Federal Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Rana Tanveer, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Musadik Malik, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Ahsan Iqbal, Sherry Rehman and others were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

During the ceremony, the PML-N leader swore, “to bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, discharge its duties honestly to the best of ability and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law”.

Immediately after this, Dar held a meeting with Alvi. During the meeting which lasted 20 minutes, both expressed concern over the country’s economic situation. The newly-appointed minister appointed the head of state of his plan to deal with economic challenges. They also discussed further damage to the economy amidst the floods.

Dar also held an informal conversation with journalists after his swearing-in ceremony. He said that the ministers do not know about the extension of the incumbent army chief or the appointment of his successor.

He also said that the talks about a high-profile appointment were between PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and the prime minister. He added that it is possible that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman may also participate in the consultations.

Commenting on political matters, Dar said that the PML-N lost the by-election in Punjab because of the distribution of tickets. He said that the party had promised tickets to 20 defecting lawmakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and they would honour their commitment. He added that if they do not give tickets to them, nobody would make a deal with them in the future.

He also acknowledged during this interaction that the PML-N’s ticket did not hold the same value. “If you go to the public after increasing petrol by Rs100, the result will be the same as the by-polls in Punjab,” he added.

It is a different matter that the value of the PML-N ticket is no longer there, when the election will be increased by Rs100 per liter of petrol, then the situation will be the same as what happened in the Punjab by-election.