Global Rice News

Deputy PM’s Post is Honorary with No Official Office, Pakistani Court Told

In a recent report, the Cabinet Division of Pakistan informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the role of deputy prime minister is honorary and does not have any established office, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The information was provided during a hearing of a plea filed by Sher Afzal Marwat, a leader of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, challenging the appointment of Ishaq Dar as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in April.

Marwat’s plea argued that Dar was already serving as the federal minister for foreign affairs when the cabinet division issued a notification on April 28 for his appointment to the post. The plea stated that while the office of the prime minister is recognized in the constitution, the post of deputy premier is not mentioned, and there is no law allowing the cabinet division to issue such a notification. Additionally, it claimed that Dar’s appointment as deputy premier was made for personal reasons, at the expense of public funds.

During the hearing, the Defense counsel, Riaz Hanif Rahi, highlighted that Dar’s appointment as deputy prime minister is honorary and requested the court to form a larger bench to address cases involving dual appointments for the sake of good governance. As a result, the court adjourned the hearing.

Ishaq Dar, a former four-time finance minister of Pakistan, was previously appointed as the head of a special committee on privatization before being appointed as deputy premier. Some political analysts believed that his appointment to this role indicated Nawaz Sharif’s attempt to exert indirect control over the government. Dar is known to be a close ally of Nawaz Sharif’s elder brother and three-time former prime minister.

It is worth noting that prior to Dar, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was appointed as the deputy prime minister of Pakistan in 2012.

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