Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar has stepped down as part of a reshuffle of the Cabinet initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“As part of a cabinet reshuffle PM desired that I take the energy minister portfolio instead of finance. However, I have obtained his consent to not take any cabinet position. I strongly believe @ImranKhanPTI is the best hope for Pakistan and inshallah will make a naya Pakistan,” Mr. Umar tweeted on Thursday.
Health Minister Aamir Kiani and Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur also lost their jobs.
Sources said Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was also asked to step down, but he refused to do so. He said he will leave the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if he’s forced to quit the Cabinet, they said.
Earlier when media reported that a reshuffle was in the offing, the government had issued a denial.
Senior journalist Kashif Abbasi told The Hindu that the denial was given because the government was still mulling over replacements. “Since one of them was the Finance Minister, any premature news on his departure would have affected the economy.”
Pakistan’s economy is going through a tough phase. Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told The Hindu that it is not enough to change a Minister or two. “The real problem is the direction set by the PM.”
Anchor Shahzad Iqbal said some Ministries were under-performing. The Finance Ministry, for example, failed to reform the Federal Board of Revenue and achieve the tax target. “Bringing the economy on track was one of the biggest challenges for this government. The expectations were high but so far, they have not been fulfilled,” he said. Mr. Iqbal added eight months were not enough to judge any Finance Minister’s performance, especially when a weak economy was handed over to him. “Asad Umar should have been given more time.”
Senior anchor Mansoor Ali Khan said PM Khan has created a hard shell around himself and has stopped caring about what the Opposition will say. “Khan took resignations from his Ministers Azam Swati and Aleem Khan when they landed in trouble. He won’t back off and as per my information, he has pinpointed the people he wants reshuffled or out of his Cabinet.”
Mr. Mansoor said it is needed because this is Mr. Khan’s first time in federal government. “This is a coalition government with an inexperienced Cabinet. I hope that with the passage of time, the captain and his Cabinet will learn their lessons through trial and error.”