PM Shehbaz Sharif was about to resign on May 27: report
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif decided to resign from his position on May 27 due to the tough conditions set up by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reports Noor Aftab for The News.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not ready to fulfill conditions of the IMF that was mounting pressure on the government to increase prices of the petroleum products to an unprecedented level.”
It has been reported that at the time PM Shehbaz and the former finance minister Ishaq Dar were supporting the proposal to dissolve the National Assembly and hold fresh elections instead of accepting IMF’s demands.
However, later Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) realised that if PM Shehbaz resigned, it would be a loss for the PML-N. The party then decided that the coalition government would continue to work and they also needed a finance minister to deal with the economic issues.
Shahid Khaqan says Dar isn’t coming back
Former PM and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Dar is not coming back to Pakistan “in the near future”.
“I don’t think former finance minister Ishaq Dar will return to Pakistan in near future. All decisions are taken by the party leadership in consultation with the senior party members”, said Shahid Khaqan, adding that Finance Minister Miftah Ismail would continue his work in the future as he has been doing exceptional work to restore Pakistan’s fractured economy.
The debate about Miftah’s replacement escalated soon after speculations about Dar’s return and him confirming the same to BBC Urdu.
Now, the development has sparked a debate that whether PML-N leaders are divided into two groups over the selection of a finance minister.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique showed his support to Dar while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Abbasi are in favour of Miftah Ismail.
Meanwhile, according to The Express Tribune, Miftah said that though he has support from the federal cabinet and the PML-N, there are a few party members who are criticising and opposing him.
'%3e%3crect%20y='0.445312'%20width='48'%20height='48'%20rx='24'%20fill='white'%20fill-opacity='0.5'/%3e%3crect%20x='0.5'%20y='0.945312'%20width='47'%20height='47'%20rx='23.5'%20stroke='%23808080'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M34.625%2024.4453L14%2024.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M23.375%2034.4453L13.375%2024.4453L23.375%2014.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cfilter%20id='filter0_b_489_44344'%20x='-12'%20y='-11.5547'%20width='72'%20height='72'%20filterUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3e%3cfeFlood%20flood-opacity='0'%20result='BackgroundImageFix'/%3e%3cfeGaussianBlur%20in='BackgroundImageFix'%20stdDeviation='6'/%3e%3cfeComposite%20in2='SourceAlpha'%20operator='in'%20result='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'/%3e%3cfeBlend%20mode='normal'%20in='SourceGraphic'%20in2='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'%20result='shape'/%3e%3c/filter%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'%3e%3crect%20y='0.445312'%20width='48'%20height='48'%20rx='24'%20fill='white'%20fill-opacity='0.5'/%3e%3crect%20x='0.5'%20y='0.945312'%20width='47'%20height='47'%20rx='23.5'%20stroke='%23808080'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M13.375%2024.4453L34%2024.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M24.625%2014.4453L34.625%2024.4453L24.625%2034.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cfilter%20id='filter0_b_489_44344'%20x='-12'%20y='-11.5547'%20width='72'%20height='72'%20filterUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3e%3cfeFlood%20flood-opacity='0'%20result='BackgroundImageFix'/%3e%3cfeGaussianBlur%20in='BackgroundImageFix'%20stdDeviation='6'/%3e%3cfeComposite%20in2='SourceAlpha'%20operator='in'%20result='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'/%3e%3cfeBlend%20mode='normal'%20in='SourceGraphic'%20in2='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'%20result='shape'/%3e%3c/filter%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
