Islamabad, April 27 (IANS) Miftah Ismail, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s adviser on finance and a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), took oath as the country’s Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Friday.
President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to Ismail during a ceremony attended by Cabinet members, party workers and senior officials, Dawn online reported.
Following his ascension to the key job, Ismail relinquished his advisory role to Abbasi. His appointment came hours before he was scheduled to announce the 2018-19 budget of the federal government.
Ismail’s selection as the Finance Minister is a rarity since he is not an elected member of the Parliament. He succeeds Ishaq Dar, who has been in London for medical treatment since October.
Dar was declared an absconder by the accountability court due to his failure to return to Pakistan and face the corruption cases against him.
Ismail holds a Ph.D from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was Abbasi’s special assistant on economic affairs before being promoted to the advisory role.