On Monday September 26th, Ishaq Dar was sworn in as Pakistan’s new finance minister, a day after he joined in as a member of the country’s parliament. This will be the fourth time Dar has taken the position.

The 72 year old was brought on board at a time when Pakistan is slowly reeling from the floods that killed over 1500 people and destroyed several homes, crops, rail networks and roads.

Soon after taking his oath, he seemingly stated his priorities; “We will control inflation. We will bring interest rates down,” he told reporters.

Dar is a chartered accountant by profession and secured the position after Miftah Ismail resigned. Ismail was Pakistan’s fifth finance minister in a span of four years.

In his six months in office, Ismail was known to secure a $1.17bn bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the midst of Pakistan’s economy.

Dar had fled to London on a private jet owned by Shahbaz Sharif and lived there in self-imposed exile for 5 years following serious corruption allegations against him. Currently back in Pakistan, he told reporters “I will try my best to save Pakistan from the economic vortex it is caught in … I am hopeful we will head towards a positive direction,”.

Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s current army chief had said at the time of his exile “Dar had fixed landmines on our economy.”

But the opposition have condemned the government for their decision.

Former prime Minister Imran Khan, the head of the main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, called Dar the “biggest conman of Pakistan’’ and openly lashed out at the government in an event stating “Deals are made with thieves. They are given NROs (amnesty against corruption). That is why theft does not end, the country does not go forward, and money laundering does not stop,” Khan said while addressing students at a university in Lahore.

Back in 2017, Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a case against Dar for possessing assets which surpassed his known sources of income. Dar escaped the NAB’S court proceedings and allegedly fled to London citing health related issues.

Dar was also professed as absconder and his assets were seized after he failed to comply to the court’s multiple orders, demanding he appear at court.

However, just last week, the NAB decided to suspend the arrest warrant against him till October 7th after Dar’s lawyer assured the court that his client will attend the hearings.

Pakistani citizens have expressed their dismay at the president’s decision to call Dar back and even offer him the same position he has previously violated. Many took to twitter to denounce the government’s decision.

Fatima Arshad tweeted ‘’Ishaq Dar landed in Pakistan. What a shame that he who destroyed the economy of this country is now going to take over the post of finance ministry again. RIP Justice, ethics, law.’’

Dar is also a convicted person. The police were advised to arrest him whenever he would return to Pakistan.

Recent leaks from the prime Minister’s office revealed that the Prime Mister was advised to wait for Ishaq Dar for a way out of the situation.