Ishaq Dar
| Mohammad Ishaq Dar محمد اسحاق ڈار |
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|---|---|
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| Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar | |
| Pakistan Senator from Punjab Province | |
| In office March 31, 2008 – Incumbant |
|
| President | Pervez Musharraf Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Yousaf Raza Gillani |
| Constituency | 7-H, Gulberg-III, Lahore. Pakistan. |
| 22nd Finance Minister of Pakistan | |
| In office March 31, 2008 – May 12, 2008 |
|
| President | Pervez Musharraf Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Yousaf Raza Gillani |
| In office November 6, 1998 – October 12, 1999 |
|
| President | Rafiq Tarar |
| Preceded by | Sartaj Aziz |
| Succeeded by | Shaukat Aziz |
| Commerce Minister of Pakistan | |
| In office 17 February 1997 – October 12, 1999 |
|
| President | Wasim Sajjad Rafiq Tarar |
| Prime Minister | Nawaz Sharif |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohammad Ishaq Dar May 13, 1950 Lahore, West-Pakistan |
| Nationality |  Pakistan |
| Political party | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| Alma mater | Punjab University (B.Com. (hons.)) Fellow Chartered Accountant-Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales |
| Religion | Islam |
Mohammad Ishaq Dar (Urdu: محمد اسحاق ڈار) is a Pakistani Economist and currently serving as the Senator of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) to the Senate of Pakistan. He is the current Parliamentary leader to the Senate of Pakistan and also served as the former Finance & Commerce Minister of Pakistan. He served as the Finance minister of Pakistan under Nawaz Sharif Government but his tenure was cut by the General Pervez Musharraf, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army.
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[edit] Education
Dar is a graduate of Punjab University which he attended in 1968. In 1972, he did his Bachelor of Commerce with honors, and was awarded two Gold medals and Roll of Honor for First position in the University of Punjab.[1] Immediately after his graduation Mr. Dar then went to the UK and did his Chartered Accountancy from ICAEW. In 1993, Dar was the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerence and Industry.[1] As of today, Dar is currently the president of the International Affairs of the Pakistan Muslim League (N).[1]
[edit] Ministerial career
In 1997, Dar was appointed and Commerce Ministry under the Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The first time Dar was seen on the political field was in 1992 when he was chosen as the Minister of State. In May 1998, when Dar was the Commerce Minister Pakistan tested its nuclear weapons and the world responded with heavy sanctions against Pakistan. The economy nose-dived and Sartaj Aziz could no longer cope with the economic stress, hence Dar was called upon for an economic rescue as the new Finance Minister of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif quickly appointed him as the Finance minister of Pakistan, and gained a quick confidence of Nawaz Sharif. Because the capital policies were no longer made functional for Pakistan due to sanctions, Dar planned a socialist economics mainframe plan for the economy of Pakistan. It was a challenge as the economy of Pakistan was getting out of control of Pakistan Government. Under Dar, the major industries and stock market came under intense control of the government. While the major private industries remained under private control, the stock market and stock exchange, foreign exchange markets and the foreign exchange reserves fell under the favor of the government. This resulted in ultimate improvement of control of the economy by the Government.
Dar's economic policy achievement in the Sharif government was export-led growth as a cornerstone of economic strategy. Being made the finance minister in November 1998, he negotiated an International Monetary Fund rescue package to meet an economic crisis triggered by sanctions over nuclear tests in May that year. The head of a state-run bank later proclaimed that "Whether you call it voodoo economics or Darnomics, he has moved things," referring Darnomics as the unique working of Ishaq Dar when he refused to accept a devaluation or a rise in utility charges or tax rates.[2]
Dar continued on the post till the Sharif government's overthrow by the military coup d'état led by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army General Pervez Musharraf. As of today, Ishaq Dar is a central parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) and the parliamentary leader of PML-N in the Senate of Pakistan since 2003. The first time Dar was elected for National Assembly was in the 1993 general elections and later in 1997 when he won the NA-97 Lahore-VI general seat. Dar was elected senator for the first time in 2003 and later in 2006 he was re-elected as the senator unopposed for the tenure ending in 2012. Dar was once again elected as a Senator unopposed in the upcoming Senate Elections of 2012.
[edit] Judicial issues
PML-N was reluctant in joining the cabinet due to their differences on the judiciary issue in 2008. PPP however convinced PML-N to join the cabinet specially desiring Ishaq Dar's expertise in the Finance ministry. The highly renowned chartered accountant seemed to be the only hope for Pakistan's nose-diving economy. Unfortunately PML-N ministers including Ishaq Dar later resigned from the cabinet due to non-restoration of judges by PPP which was agreed as a condition of PMLN to join the government.
[edit] Achievements
In 2009, the former Finance Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Tarin, admitted that Ishaq Dar played a vital role in helping the government clinch the NFC award between the Federal government and the provinces of Pakistan.[3] Dar has constantly iterated the need to spend within one's means in order to help Pakistan's economy genuinely grow. Senator Dar was decorated with "Nishan-e-Imtiaz", which is the highest civil award given to Pakistani nationals, for his Parliamentary services till date in Pakistan.
[edit] Constitutional amendments
Ishaq Dar played a pivotal role in creating consensus on 18th Constitutional Amendment in March 2010 among 26 member parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms; both treasury and opposition members of parliament hailed his efforts for making 18th constitutional amendment possible. For the purpose of implementation of constitutional reforms by end of June 2011, National Implementation Commission has been established with a key role to Senator Dar as Deputy Chairman. He comes across as a strong contender for the post of Finance Minister, if and when the Sharif government comes to power; a wise choice given the man's expertise in the area of finance. Senator Dar is a member of number of standing committees and also chairs the Standing Committee on Industries and Production. Senator Dar is also the chairman of the University of Health Sciences, Punjab.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Dar, Senator of Pakistan Muslim League (N) to the Senate hof Pakistan Parliament 2008., Ishfaq. "Mohammad Ishaq Dar". Senate of Pakistan. http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=22&CatCode=0&CatName=.
- ^ Augustine Anthony, "New Pakistan finance minister will have tough job" The Guardian, March 16, 2008
- ^ Consensus Reached on NFC Award, http://www.thearynews.com/english/newsdetail.asp?nid=39002 The ARY News, December 11, 2009
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sartaj Aziz |
Finance Minister of Pakistan 1998 – 1999 |
Succeeded by Shaukat Aziz |
| Preceded by Salman Shah |
2nd term 2008 |
Succeeded by Naveed Qamar |
