Hammad to replace Hafeez as Finance Minister

ISLAMABAD – The federal government has decided to replace Finance Minister Abdul Hafiz Sheikh from the portfolio of Finance Ministry on account of rising inflation in the country.

Federal Information Minister and Senator Shibli Faraz while ratifying removal of Finance Minister Abdul Hafiz Sheikh said that Finance Minister Abdul Hafiz Sheikh is being replaced on account of rising inflation in the country.

While talking to a private TV channel, he said Prime Minister Imran khan has decided to give additional charge of Finance Ministry to Hammad Azhar as Finance Minister.

Senator Shibli Faraz said that all the prerequisites regarding new appointment will be fulfilled tomorrow. He also expressed hope that that following the charge of Finance Ministry with Hammad Azhar, public will get relieved against prevailing inflation in the country.

In a series of tweets, Hammad Azhar said, “I am honoured to be entrusted with the additional charge of Finance by the Prime Minister. Pakistan’s economy has made significant gains towards stabilisation since 2018. We shall continue to consolidate these gains and strengthen the growth momentum. We navigated econ fallout of covid-19 fairly well. The world is witnessing supply chain disruptions & rise in food prices. We shall endeavour to protect our ppl from these shocks. With hard work & integrity, we will InshAllah build Naya Pakistan under leadership of ImranKhan.”

Sources revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan was unhappy with the performance of financial team and Hafiz Sheikh as Financial team failed to keep check on inflation in the country.

It was also learnt that following the criticism on government for not conducting IMF negotiations properly, the government was unhappy with the financial team, and resulted in sacking of Hafiz Sheikh from the office.

Hammad Azhar was working as Federal Minister for Industries and he is going to replace Abdul Hafeez Sheikh as Finance Minister. There was also some resentment among government ministers on issue of negotiations regarding IMF on taxation and autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan  reportedly conveyed to the finance minister to step down from his role and a notification in this regard is also expected to be issued soon.