Shaukat Tarin quits PTI

ISLAMABAD: In a fresh blow to the former ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) another wicket downed as former finance minister Shaukat Tarin parted ways with Imran Khan-led party on Friday.

The former finance czar confirmed giving up his party membership and resignation from his seat in the Senate as well, in conversation with Geo News.

Tarin said that he is also bidding adieu to the politics, as he quit the PTI, which already undergoes deterioration amid legal and political hurdles. The ex-minister is the last one to dissociate with the former ruling party, joining a long list of leaders — including Asad Umar, Usman Dar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, and Pervez Khattak. Several other PTI leaders have parted ways with Imran following May 9 — the day when the party workers ransacked state installations after his arrest.

A crackdown was also launched against those involved in the events, leading to the arrest of hundreds of party workers and leaders — including Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Tarin was first appointed as the finance minister in April 2021, but his term ended as federal minister since he could hold office for only six months without being a lawmaker.

However, Imran did not let him go and appointed him as his adviser on finance. In the same year in December, Tarin became a senator after winning the by-election for a general seat in the upper house of parliament. Days after this, he was sworn in as the federal finance minister for a second time and served the post for just four months as the PTI government was driven out of parliament in a vote of no-confidence against Imran in April 2022.

Tarin also served as federal finance minister during the Pakistan Peoples Party government, from October 2008 to February 2010.