ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Murtaza Solangi, informed the Senate that Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has endorsed Senator Ishaq Dar as Leader of the House and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla as Chief Whip with the status of Minister of State.
This decision was made in response to a point raised by Senator Shahadat Awan during the October 30 session regarding the status of the leaders of the House and Opposition, as well as the Chief Whip, after the completion of the constitutional tenure of the last government. The minister clarified that, according to parliamentary traditions, they would continue to fulfill their responsibilities.
A notification reissuing the appointment of Saleem Mandviwalla as Chief Whip has also been issued. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani claimed on October 31 that he received consent from the Caretaker Prime Minister to retain Ishaq Dar as Leader of the House.
During a special session of the Upper House of Parliament, an objection was raised against Ishaq Dar being labeled as the Leader of the House, given the absence of an elected government. Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani explained that he received consent from Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar for Ishaq Dar to continue as the Leader of the House.
Ishaq Dar was initially appointed as Leader of the House in the Senate by the then-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Dar, who returned to the country after a five-year self-exile, was sworn in as a senator and subsequently as the new finance minister. His departure in 2017 was amid a corruption trial, and he returned to Pakistan after this period of self-imposed exile.
