ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to the appointment of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA and former finance minister Asad Umar as chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, ARY News reported.
The prime minister issued directives for Asad Umar’s appointment as chairman of the NA panel on finance.
The PTI MNA from Islamabad stepped down as the country’s finance minister last month after PM Imran asked him to take the portfolio of petroleum, which he declined and opted to quit the federal cabinet.
Subsequently, the government named Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, a former World Bank official who served as finance minister from 2010-2013, as adviser on finance, replacing Umar.
In a recent meeting, the prime minister had reportedly tried to convince Asad Umar to rejoin his cabinet.
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Lately, the premier in his statement on the cabinet reshuffle said the former finance minister would re-join his team of ministers soon.
Talking to journalists at the Prime Minister’s Office, he described the reshuffle as a change in ‘batting order’.
The prime minister said that Umar would be back in the cabinet. “Asad Umar is intelligent and he is precious [asset]. He will return to the cabinet soon,” Khan said.
