ISLAMABAD: Renowned banker Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to become the country’s next finance minister, according to sources, as newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prepares to name his federal government.
According to the sources, Ishaq Dar, a former finance minister and close adviser to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, has dropped out of the race due to health difficulties.
Dar could be granted another key role, according to sources, because during the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement, he faced a difficult challenge in resurrecting the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan.
Aurangzeb now serves as HBL’s president. He was the CEO of JP Morgan’s Global Corporate Bank in Asia and has more than 30 years of international banking expertise.
Meanwhile, sources close to Islamabad/Pindi claim Sultan Allana, the head of HBL, would have been an even more senior candidate for finance minister given his extensive experience in finance and the economy.
However, due to international job obligations related to the Aga Khan, he was unable to commit. Allana has previously been credited for conceptualising Roshan Digital and overseeing the behind-the-scenes project management required to remove Pakistan from the FATF Grey list.
Shehbaz held an economic meeting the day after assuming office as prime minister and directed that negotiations with the IMF on a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) commence.