After defeat in Senate polls: Govt may appoint Hafeez Sheikh as adviser to PM

ISLAMABAD: With the defeat of Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the Senate elections by the PPP candidate Yusuf Raza Gilani, the PTI government has been left with a couple of options, either to appoint him as Adviser to PM on Finance or he may prefer to quit from his present position.

Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was made the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenues on December 10, 2020, so he was required to become an elected parliamentarian within six months under the Constitutional requirement. Now the government will have a time-frame till June 10, 2021 for the continuation of his office, then he will have to leave.

“Dr Shaikh will have to go,” said a top official of the PTI government on condition of anonymity, adding the premier would take a final decision on this subject. The government may now consider some other names for the slot of the finance minister and Asad Umar is among the top contenders for this slot.