{"id":18227,"date":"2022-07-03T01:49:10","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T01:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/?p=18227"},"modified":"2022-07-03T01:49:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T01:49:10","slug":"pml-n-rifts-deepen-over-miftahs-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/2022\/07\/03\/pml-n-rifts-deepen-over-miftahs-future\/","title":{"rendered":"PML-N rifts deepen over Miftah\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: <\/strong>Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has found unequivocal support from party stalwarts at a time when he has been facing criticism from within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) amid speculations of ex-financial czar Ishaq Dar\u2019s return to Pakistan to replace him.<\/p>\n

The support for the incumbent finance minister has come from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, saying that his understanding of economic issues is unmatched, and it is time to stand with him, especially, when he is feeling the heat from within.<\/p>\n

The finance minister, who has been facing severe criticism for repeatedly jacking up petroleum prices and over delay in the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, among other things, himself admitted that he has ample support from party stalwarts but there are others who have been criticising and opposing him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have support from the federal cabinet and PML-N but there are few party members criticising and opposing me,\u201d Miftah said while talking to\u00a0The Express Tribune<\/em>, adding that he understands that party leaders were unable to go to their constituencies after the government took some tough decisions to fix economic issues.<\/p>\n

Expressing his gratitude to party stalwarts, Miftah revealed that he is under immense pressure because of being the face of the ruling alliance\u2019s \u201cunpopular decisions\u201d, adding that he did not even want to hold the last press conference where he had to announce the increase in petroleum prices once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not want to go for the last press conference, and I had even refused before being persuaded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,\u201d Miftah revealed. \u201cI swear it has never happened that I was unable to find suitable words; I kept thinking what words should I be using to start the press conference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he will be willing to leave the finance portfolio for Dar, Miftah said that it is not about his willingness or unwillingness as it is the prime minister\u2019s discretion to keep him or anyone else as the country\u2019s financial czar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know only one thing that I would comply with whatever decision the prime minister takes within the next 15 minutes of becoming aware of it,\u201d Miftah said, adding that 15-minute time would be enough even if PM\u2019s Principal Secretary Dr Tauqir Shah conveys the decision of his removal.<\/p>\n

He, however, emphasised that he will stay with the party and do whatever task he is given even if he is replaced or moved somewhere. \u201cThis has to be PM\u2019s decision; it is his discretion,\u201d he reiterated.<\/p>\n

The debate about Miftah\u2019s replacement escalated soon after speculations became rife about Dar\u2019s return and him confirming the same to BBC Urdu.<\/p>\n

Dar\u2019s return and lobbying within the party circle built pressure on Miftah to the extent that he has since been repeatedly saying that he is ready to hand over the reins of the finance ministry to the senator-elect, who is in London since 2018 and faces a corruption reference wherein he had been declared a proclaimed offender.<\/p>\n

Party\u2019s internal rifts over Miftah\u2019s future have not only aggravated but created a situation where stalwarts had to openly come out in his support.<\/p>\n

\u201cFM Miftah is among the hardest working members of PM\u2019s team,\u201d the defence minister tweeted, saying that the finance minister was accessible to all stakeholders. \u201cHe is performing v. well under difficult circumstances, with immense criticism from vested interests \u2013 including, and unfortunately, from within PMLN,\u201d Asif said. \u201cTime to show solidarity with Miftah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiftah Ismail\u2019s knowledge of economics and the Pakistan economy is without parallel in Pakistan politics today,\u201d declared former premier Abbasi. Calling the finance minister one of the most effective members of the PM\u2019s cabinet, the senior PML-N leader said that he has \u201cplayed a crucial role in saving Pakistan from default and in implementing PMLN\u2019s economic reform agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s spokesperson, Marriyum Aurangzeb, was not available for comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has found unequivocal support from party stalwarts at a time when he has been facing criticism from within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) amid speculations of ex-financial czar Ishaq Dar\u2019s return to Pakistan to replace him. The support for the incumbent finance minister has come from Defence Minister Khawaja […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,39],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news","8":"category-pakistan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18229,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18227\/revisions\/18229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailykashmirpost.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}