FM Dar appointed as Deputy Prime Minister

Islamabad: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was assigned the additional responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister, the cabinet division issued the notification on Sunday.

 The appointment, effective immediately and until further notice, was made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Dar had served as the Federal Minister for Commerce and Investment during Nawaz Sharif's government from 1997 to 1999.

Besides it, he had twice served as the Federal Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Revenue, and Statistics in different periods.

Before his ministerial roles, Dar was appointed as Minister of State and Chief Executive of Pakistan Investment Board from 1992 to 1993. He also has a background in the business sector, having served as President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dar briefly took on the role of Federal Finance Minister in 2008 but resigned when PML-N decided to withdraw from the coalition government led by the PPP. He later resumed the position of Finance Minister in Nawaz Sharif's government in 2013.

In 2022, Dar was reappointed as Finance Minister until the end of the coalition government's term in August 2023. Despite his longstanding expertise in finance within the PML-N, he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in March of the current year, with the finance portfolio going to Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Before Dar's appointment, the last Deputy Prime Minister was Chaudhry Pervez Elahi of PML-Q, appointed in June 2012. Dar has held various significant roles in the government previously.