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 cabinetreshuffle” and that Prime Minister Imran Khan offered him the energyportfolio. “As part of a cabinet reshuffle, (the) Prime Minister desiredthat I take the Energy Minister portfolio instead of finance. However, I haveobtained his consent to not take any cabinet position.”
“I strongly believe @ImranKhanPTI is the best hope forPakistan and Insha Allah will make a Naya Pakistan,” he tweeted.
There was no immediate statement from Khan’s office orconfirmation of who would replace Umar and it was not clear how his absencewould impact the deal, according to the Express Tribune. Umar has said oftenthat “a deal is coming soon, and that it will be the last one”.
Following his tweet, Umar addressed a news conference inwhich he said “it was time to make some difficult decisions to stabilizethe economy” and that he hopes his replacement would be supported in hisefforts.
“This does not mean I am not available to forward PTI’svision for ‘Naya Pakistan’. I am and will always be available to forward theinterests of the country.”
Asked whether there had been a conspiracy in the governmentto remove him, Umar said: “I don’t know if there has been a conspiracy ornot, but all I know is that my ‘captain’ wanted to see me in the role of theEnergy 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.”