Shaukat Tarin offered to be part of PM’s economic team

ISLAMABAD: Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said on Wednesday that he would not accept any public office till pending cases against him in the judiciary are settled.

“I am a man of principles and will not accept any offer of public office until cases against me are settled. Although, the decision is in my favour at the initial stage but hearing of appeals is still pending before the judiciary,” former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said when The News contacted him for seeking his comments on Wednesday night with regard to some reports on his appointment as Adviser to PM on Finance along with Federal Minister for Finance Hammad Azhar.

Hammad Ahzar was given the additional charge of Finance Minister after removal of Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

Shaukat Tarin said that he got an offer from Prime Minister Imran Khan when he had appointed Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as Adviser to PM on Finance. But he had declined to clinch any public office until cases against him were settled. He said that his stance was clear and he would stick to his position.

Shaukat Tarin is considered as a close confidant of PTI-led government as he was made part of the Economic Advisory Group. He was also seen at different high-profile meetings chaired by PM Imran Khan on different economic and financial issues.

Shaukat Tarin had remained as finance minister from 2009 to 2010 in PM Gilani’s cabinet and it was under his tenure when the National Finance Commission (NFC) announced its Seventh Award in 2010 where the provinces got the major chunk of Federal Divisible Pool (FDP). Now he is part of deliberations on economic and financial issues under the PTI-led government but so far he has not accepted any public office despite getting offers from the top political leadership.