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Imran Khan axes Finance Minister amid IMF talks
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SME Times News Bureau | 18 Apr, 2019
Pakistan Finance Minister Asad Umar was removed on Thursday amid a wave
of criticism over the government's handling of the financial crisis the
country is facing.
The change in the Finance Ministry comes at a
time when Pakistan is in the middle of negotiating a new relief package
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a tweet, Umar
said the move was "part of a cabinet reshuffle" and that Prime Minister
Imran Khan offered him the energy portfolio.
"As part of a
cabinet reshuffle, (the) Prime Minister desired that I take the Energy
Minister portfolio instead of finance. However, I have obtained his
consent to not take any cabinet position."
"I strongly believe @ImranKhanPTI is the best hope for Pakistan and Insha Allah will make a Naya Pakistan," he tweeted.
There
was no immediate statement from Khan's office or confirmation of who
would replace Umar and it was not clear how his absence would impact the
deal, according to the Express Tribune. Umar has said often that "a
deal is coming soon, and that it will be the last one".
Following
his tweet, Umar addressed a news conference in which he said "it was
time to make some difficult decisions to stabilize the economy" and that
he hopes his replacement would be supported in his efforts.
"This
does not mean I am not available to forward PTI's vision for 'Naya
Pakistan'. I am and will always be available to forward the interests of
the country."
Asked whether there had been a conspiracy in the
government to remove him, Umar said: "I don't know if there has been a
conspiracy or not, but all I know is that my 'captain' wanted to see me
in the role of the Energy Minister. I did not think that would be a
great idea so I refused.
"We have finalized the IMF agreement on
much better terms than before. It is the time to take difficult
decisions; I have made these decisions, I refused to take the decisions
that would have crushed the nation."
Defending his performance,
he said: "Who says that I have failed in achieving what I wanted to
achieve? I had left my job to join the party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf)
when we weren't even in the Parliament, let alone in the opposition.
Pakistan
has gone to the IMF repeatedly since the late 1980s and last received
an IMF bailout in 2013 to the tune of $6.6 billion.
Earlier this
week Hammad Azhar, a state minister for revenue, tweeted that Umar had
reached an "agreement in principle" on an IMF deal during a recent trip
to Washington, with the agreement to be finalised later this month.
The
United Arab Emirates had signed with Pakistan a $3 billion support
package in January to boost the liquidity and foreign exchange reserves
of the cash-strapped country.
Islamabad had also secured $6 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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75.65 |
Japanese
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56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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