Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar took oath as a federal minister on September 28, a day after he was sworn in as a senator. This is the fourth time Dar has been given the portfolio.
President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to Dar during a ceremony at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended.
The 72-year-old politician and chartered accountant returned to Pakistan on Monday night after a self-exile of nearly five years.
Dar was nominated as the new finance minister to replace Miftah Ismail by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in a meeting in London. Dar’s return had been under speculation for months with PML-N leaders such as Maryam Nawaz and Javed Latif publicly disowning former finance minister Miftah Ismail’s policies.
‘Daronomics’ era begins
With Dra back in the office, the business community hope that the new policies would help to stabilize the rupee and tame record-high inflation.
Ishaq Dar is known for his approach called “Daronomics” during his last stint in office from 2013-2017 when he kept the rupee stable between Rs98 and Rs105 against the greenback but he was also criticized for deliberately undervaluing the rupee.
Pakistan’s new finance minister said that he will work to rein in inflation and cut interest rates, calling the rupee currency undervalued.
“We will control inflation,” Dar told reporters. “We will bring interest rates down.”
Dar faces massive challenges of tackling a balance of payment crisis, foreign reserves that cover barely a month’s imports, historic lows in the rupee, inflation exceeding 27% and the implications of devastating floods.