The government has decided to move to elect Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin as a senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as reported by sources.
As per sources, the decision was taken after PTI’s Ayub Afridi resigned as a senator, adding that the lawmaker will be appointed as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide of SAFRON (State and Frontier Regions).
It merits mention that the government appointed Tarin as an adviser after his six-month stint as finance minister ended last week on Friday.
An official notification issued on the appointment read that Tarin’s new status will be equivalent to that of a federal minister.
The finance minister was supposed to get elected as a senator — a prerequisite to continue as finance minister — as the six-month time limit to elect him as a member of Parliament expired on Friday.
PM Imran Khan had appointed Tarin as the finance minister in a federal cabinet reshuffle, replacing Hammad Azhar — only a few weeks after he was given the portfolio.
With the finance minister’s six-month term having come to an end, as per law, Tarin will not be able to chair the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and other cabinet committees.
As per sources, once Tarin has been elected as a senator, he will get his finance ministry portfolio back.
