Ishaq Dar asked me to slash provincial shares: Miftah Ismail

ISLAMABAD: Former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail has claimed that incumbent Finance Minister had asked him to slash provincial shares amid the economic crisis, ARY News reported.

Speaking on ARY News programme ‘11th Hour’, the PML-N leader said that the incumbent finance minister used to give ‘wired’ advice to party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif, adding that Dar also sometimes scold him and other members.

“Ishaq Dar once asked me to slash provincial shares. How can we take such measures after 18th amendment in the Constitution,” Miftah Ismail asked.

In response to a question, the former federal minister said that everyone knows who Suleman Shehbaz – son of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif – was targeting in his tweet, expressing ‘displeasure’ over the remarks.

Miftah further said that he was also jailed “but unfortunately the party forgot us”.

Read More: Ishaq Dar promised to bring down dollar rate to Rs180, slams Miftah Ismail

Responding to another question, the former minister hoped that negotiations with International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be successful. He added IMF had demanded to remove cap on Dollar and increase petroleum prices.

Giving further details, he said that another IMF’s condition was to end the subsidy given to electricity companies. “The Fund’s third condition was to increase prices of electricity and gas,” he added.

Read More: Pakistan-IMF deal to be sealed this month: PM Shehbaz Sharif

He also lauded the decision to remove dollar cap, saying that default risk was increasing so people started buying dollars and gold. “If the government reaches an agreement with the Fund, the default risk will end,” he reiterated.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) has decided to remove the cap on the US dollar in a bid to end ‘artificial’ demand in the market.

In a statement, ECAP secretary Zafar Paracha said that the association was withdrawing the cap on the US dollar in the “nation’s interest” as the limit was causing adverse effects.

The statement noted that there was artificial demand in the market as people would buy the dollar from us and sell it in the grey market.

“As a result, the business was shifting from official channels to the grey ones, hurting not only the reserves but also dealing losses to the exchange companies,” Zafar Paracha added.