ISLAMABAD: Federal government has appointed Shaukat Tarin as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue as the government could not get him elected as Senator within constitutional tenure for retaining him as Federal Minister.
The government has issued a notification today, appointing Tarin as economic adviser to PM. Soon after issuance of new notification today, Tarin dispelled the impression that the ongoing talks with IMF have failed. He said the talks are still going on as there is no deadline to conclude talks.
On April 16, Prime Minister Khan had appointed Shaukat Tarin as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue as according to the law that he needed to be a member of parliament within six months.
The government had planned to elect Tarin as Senator before October 15 for retaining him as Federal Minister. However, the government could not elect him as Senator within constitutional tenure, resultantly, Tarin was appointed as economic adviser.
Now, Tarin would continue to work as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue till he becomes a senator. Shaukat Tarin is currently heading Pakistan’s delegation in the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government might face some challenges on economic front as Tarin will not be able to chair the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and other cabinet committees after becoming Adviser to the Prime Minister. The Islamabad High Court had ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head the government committees, especially cabinet committees.
The PTI government is claiming that Shaukat Tarin would be elected as senator either from Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhawa provinces where ruling party has the majority. Once Tarin has been elected as a senator, he will get his finance ministry portfolio back.
