Miftah criticises Ishaq Dar for his fruitless efforts to boost the economy.

KARACHI – Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, came under fire on Thursday from PML-N leader and financial czar Miftah Ismail, who said that his actions have only hurt Pakistan.

Speaking to a private news outlet, the former finance minister said he was unaware of the circumstances behind Mr. Dar’s appointment to lead the country’s economic affairs. Mr. Ismail resigned from his position as finance minister in September of last year in accordance with the party’s decision after Ishaq Dar was chosen as his successor.

He emphasised that the administration had finally acknowledged that there was no other option but to submit to the IMF’s requirements in order to revive the desperately needed loan programme.

In response to a query on his affiliation with the PML-N and the newly launched national debate series “Reimagining Pakistan,” he stated: “I am still a member of the PML-N and the party has taken no action against him.” Mr. Ismail said that he has no intention of running for office again.

He bemoaned the bizarre system that had been put in place, where a “handful privileged class” made all the important choices.

He pointed out that Pakistan was trailing behind in terms of growth and cited poor administration as a significant contributing factor.
In addition to emphasising the need to provide employment for the lower classes of society, he urged for the devolution of powers to the local level in order to improve governance.

He said, “We are partly culpable since we were unable to change the Pakistani system.