ISLAMABAD: In yet another major federal cabinet reshuffle on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed ex-PPP minister Shaukat Tareen as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, replacing Muhammad Hammad Azhar, who was given this additional portfolio less than three weeks back.
Tareen is going to be the fourth minister for finance and revenue during the two years and nine-month rule of the PTI government. Tareen, who’s already been a member of the economic and finance committee since April, 2019, has also been given the additional portfolio of revenue.
He is most likely to be nominated either for an NA seat or become a senator. The prime minister has constitutional powers to appoint any unelected person as federal minister for maximum six months.
“Yes, I have been appointed as Minister for Finance and Revenue. I will take oath on coming Monday and then I will talk in detail about the national economy,” Tareen said in a brief chat with The News.
Tareen had started sitting at the FBR Headquarters on a daily basis this week, and there were clear indications that he would soon assume as Minister for Finance.
Tareen, considered a clear-headed person, will have to face numerous challenges on the economic front including steering the economy out of the existing morass of low growth and higher inflationary pressures.
Another serious challenge facing him would be to run the IMF program in a smooth manner. Implementation of tough conditionalities under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will not be an easy task.
It merits a mention that Shaukat Tareen faces a NAB appeal filed with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his acquittal in two rental power references. An accountability court in Islamabad had acquitted Tareen, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and others last year in the Sahiwal and Pirangheb Rental Power project references, which was challenged by the NAB in the IHC.
Tareen filed a petition with the IHC on Wednesday, April 7 for an early hearing of the NAB appeal. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the newly-appointed Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar has been given the portfolio of Minister for Energy, while Minister for Energy Omar Ayub has been made Minister for Economic Affairs.
Senator Shibli Faraz has been made Minister for Science and Technology. Khusro Bakhtiar has been made Minister for Industries and Production in place of Hammad Azhar, who additionally headed the Ministry of Finance.
Khusro previously was Minister for Economic Affairs. Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan removed the then finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and handed the portfolio over to Hammad Azhar. Before Dr Shaikh, Asad Umar headed the ministry, who afterwards was given the charge of Ministry of Planning and Development.
According to some reports, Hammad Azhar was supposed to continue retaining the additional responsibility for a long time, as the PM was quite happy with his performance as minister for industries.
Replying to a question during his briefing on the federal cabinet meeting last Tuesday, Fawad Chaudhry had said that the prime minister was changing the ministerial portfolios and would announce them shortly. Speculations of his being reassigned the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting were making rounds ever since Shibli Faraz got elected again as senator early last month.
Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry Friday said he was grateful to the prime minister for providing him with an opportunity to work as Minister for Science and Technology and singled out the ministry that could change the fate of Pakistan.
“I want to thank my team for their great teamwork with my bestie Shibli Faraz. As minister, I will be closely associated with the tasks I initiated there. As information minister, my task is to change misperceptions about Pakistan and highlight vibrant effort of the government for making Naya Pakistan,” he said in a tweet.