This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial ‘Not the same old policies, please’ carried by the newspaper yesterday. That the newspaper has run former finance minister Ishaq Dar down is a fact. It seems to have treated him unkindly and unfairly. In my view, Dar has not been properly understood by many of us.

It is plausibly argued that politicians should instead seek to win trust by being more limited in their ambitions and more successful in achieving them. Armed with an easy demeanor, Dar has proved time and again that he’s extremely good at offering explanations as transparent as possible to win trust and maintain reputation.

We all know that Dar had always acted as country’s de facto prime minister during PML-N’s tenures; he had acted as Nawaz Sharif’s economic tsar even during the latter’s four-year self-imposed exile that ended only recently.

He was seen to be interfering in Miftah Ismail’s work when the latter was country’s finance minister in the initial months of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) that came to power following the ouster of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government last year.

From day one Dar seemed to know full well that once he would start, in however small a way, he would ultimately gain confidence as fast as he would add to Nawaz Sharif’s prosperity and political clout.

Not only was Dar always at the helm in relation to country’s economic policymaking, he was often found to be leading government’s teams even in areas that are considered some other PML-N bigwigs’ province.

For example, he would become every PML-N government’s main interlocutor in talks with politicians and establishment alike. In a nutshell, it is my considered opinion that Dar would certainly become once again country’s finance minister if PML-N is voted to power in the upcoming elections.

M. Ibrahim Dar, Daska, Punjab

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023