PM decides to make Shaukat Tarin senator

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday approved the election of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin as a senator, Geo News reported, citing sources, Wednesday.

Commenting on the development, the finance minister said: "The good news regarding the Senate elections will be received by tomorrow." Tarin reached Parliament House to attend a PTI parliamentary party meeting.

The finance minister has only 17 days to get elected as a senator — a prerequisite to continue as finance minister — as the six months’ time limit to elect him a member of parliament is going to expire on October 16, 2021.

If the government had not decided to elect him senator till the deadline, he would have to become an adviser to PM on finance. In such a scenario, the government would have to choose a political face for this key position. Four finance ministers have been changed in the last three years of the PTI. Earlier, commenting on his fate as the time-limit for electing him a member of parliament was nearing, Tarin had said that he was going nowhere as he had full faith that PM Imran Khan would elect him a senator.

The minister had also confirmed that he was scheduled to visit Washington DC to attend the annual meeting of the IMF/World Bank from Oct 12, 2021. Now the government would have to elect him before his departure for attending IMF/WB meetings outside the country.

The government had de-seated Ishaq Dar intending to elect Tarin to this vacant seat but the matter had ended up in the court. Now the government will have to vacate any seat from the Punjab, KP or Sindh but so far no decision has been known. Shaukat Tarin’s close aides said that he might be elected to the Senate in the first 10 days of October.