Ishaq Dar ‘retained’ as house leader in Senate

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani claimed that he had received consent from Caretaker Prime Minister to “retain Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar as Leader of the House”, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

During a special session of Upper House of Parliament, an objection was raised against the use of the title of Leader of the House by Ishaq Dar.

PPP leader Shahadat Awan asked why the PML-N Senator had been labelled as the leader of the house on the agenda even though the elected government did not exist.

Responding to the query, Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani said he had received consent from Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar that Ishaq Dar would continue as the leader of the house.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office has not yet confirmed the appointment of Senator Dar as Leader of the House.

Sources within the PM’s Office told ARY News that they have no information about appointing Dar as house leader. Moreover, the relevant parliamentary section of the government has also expressed ignorance in this regard.

It is pertinent to mention here that Ishaq Dar was appointed as leader of the house in the Senate by the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Dar was sworn in as a senator after he had returned to the country after a five-year-long ‘self-exile’. Following this, he was sworn in as the new finance minister.

The PML-N leader had left the country in 2017 while standing trial in a corruption reference.