ISLAMABAD: The government, on Monday, appointed Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin, former finance minister, as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, after his six-month constitutional tenure as the finance minister expired on October 16.

The Cabinet Division issued a notification on Monday to this effect, which stated as; "in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 93 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, has been please to appoint, with immediate effect, Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, with the status of federal minister."

Tarin was appointed as the finance minister on April 17 and his constitutional tenure ended on October 16, 2021. Tarin was needed to be elected to as member parliament, a prerequisite, to continue in his post for longer than six months. The government had earlier decided to get Tarin elected as a senator from Punjab or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to ensure continuity and stability in markets.

Notification issued: Shaukat Tarin appointed advisor to PM on finance and revenue

Tarin, who also held the finance ministry in the PPP government, was the fourth finance minister appointed by Prime Minister Imran Khan after Asad Umar, Hafeez Shaikh, and Hammad Azhar had been given this portfolio.

As an adviser to the prime minister, Tarin will not be able to chair meetings of cabinet committees, as per an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judgement. The IHC had ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government committees.

As finance minister, Tarin was chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee, Cabinet Committee on Privatization, Cabinet Committee on State-owned Enterprises, and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021