The federal government has appointed Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister “with immediate effect”, according to a notification issued on Sunday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made his appointment, the official handout stated. Separately, the foreign ministry also shared the development on social media platform X.

The notification did not mention the description of his powers. It is issued at a time when the incumbent prime minister is in Saudi Arabia to attend the World Economic Forum special meeting.

Dar became the second deputy prime minister after PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi held the same post in 2012 when the PPP was in power.

The latest development means Dar has a lot of duties to perform in the government, ruled by the PML-N, as he is also part of the Council of Common Interests and head of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation.

When the new government was being formed after the February 8 general elections, many experts suggested that the PML-N not give Dar the finance ministry because of his “handling of the economic matters” during the 16-month rule of multi-party government.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, former Habib Bank Limited CEO, was made the finance minister. Reports say his appointment was appreciated by business experts. Moreover, some of the PML-N leaders also appreciated him for his efforts at the IMF meetings in Washington earlier this month.

But the appointments related to economic affairs were apparently not well received within the N-league, as some of the party leaders had expressed their concerns in media talks.

When asked about the prime minister’s decision to hand over the chairmanship of the Economic Coordination Committee to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, economic journalist Shahbaz Rana said that it was linked to a quarrel within the PML-N.

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According to Rana, a finance minister without the authority to preside over the ECC was of no use. He substantiated his decision with the argument that the committee takes all the important decisions related to the economy.

“It is clear that the PM is supportive of Aurangzeb and was instrumental in bringing him so he may not wanted to clip his wings,” he said while appearing at Spot Light with Munizae Jahangir aired on Aaj News on March 25, 2024.