Dar appointed leader of the house in Senate

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday appointed Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar as leader of the House in the Senate.

Ishaq Dar will represent the government and regulate government business in the Upper House of the Parliament. Earlier this week, Dar took oath as finance minister at Aiwan-e-Sadar around five years after he was ousted from the role by a court in a corruption case.

President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other PMLN leaders attended the ceremony. Dar swore to bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, discharge its duties honestly to the best of ability and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law.

“I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan. That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions,” the new finance czar said while reading the text of the official oath.

Earlier, former finance minister Miftah Ismail stepped down after PML-N supremo named Dar to the coveted slot. Dar on Monday returned to his homeland after five years stay in Britain on a ‘medical leave’. He left Pakistan in 2017 while standing trial a corruption reference.