Ishaq Dar. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
In a surprise move, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was on Sunday appointed as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister. Mr. Dar, 73, a chartered accountant and a veteran politician, belongs to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the appointment was made by Prime Minister Sharif “with immediate effect and until further orders”.
The announcement was made when both Prime Minister Sharif and Foreign Minister Dar were away in Saudi Arabia to attend a World Economic Forum’s moot. It was clear what specific responsibilities Mr. Dar would perform as Deputy Prime Minister as traditionally, all powers are concentrated in the Prime Minister, who is the head of the government.
He has served as Finance Minister in two previous governments.
Finance expert
Despite being the party’s go-to finance expert for decades, he was surprisingly made the Foreign Minister when Prime Minister Sharif shaped his Cabinet in March.
It is not the first time a Deputy Prime Minister has been appointed. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi served as Deputy Prime Minister during the tenure of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from June 25, 2012, to June 29, 2013. His role at that time was mostly symbolic as he was rewarded by then-President Asif Ali Zardari for supporting the PPP government.
Mr. Elahi is currently president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and is in jail due to allegations of corruption.
