Asad Umar announced on Thursday that he was stepping down as Pakistan’s finance minister. First, in a tweet Umar said as part of a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Imran Khan offered him the energy portfolio instead of finance. Umar decided against this change and obtained the prime minister’s consent to not take any cabinet position.
Later, during a news conference, Umar confirmed that he had indeed stepped down as the finance minister but this did not mean he would stop supporting the prime minister’s vision of a naya Pakistan.
Politicians and journalists were quick to react to this major change in the government and what it means for the government of Imran Khan.
- Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated the nation on Asad Umar stepping down as finance minister.
“I want to congratulate Pakistanis. It was every Pakistanis demand that the government reviews its economic policies,” Bilawal told reporters.
Bilawal was critical of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s economic policies stating they lacked direction and failed to make any attempts at consensus building.
“Since this government has come the people of Pakistan have drowned in a tsunami of inflation.”
The PPP chairman added that the government had accepted that its economic policies had failed and they could not provide relief to the people.
“Other ministers who have links with banned organizations will also be dismissed soon,” he added.
- Shehbaz Sharif
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Pakistan’s economy was being held hostage by ego, arrogance and stubbornness.
“Imran Khan Niazi should set aside his ego, arrogance and stubbornness and concentrate on the economy,” Sharif said.
Shehbaz added that he had made an offer to improve the economy since day one. “If time had not been wasted we wouldn’t have been facing such economic devastation.”
The PML-N leader said that more adverse economic situation will be encountered by the nation if further time is wasted.
- Ishaq Dar
Former finance minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that Asad Umar's stepping down as the finance minister of the country reflected "cowardice".
In his statement, Dar accused Umar of misleading the nation since 2014, adding, "Asad Umar remained the finance minister for eight months and laid distorted facts before the nation".
He noted that there was only one month left in presentation of budget, while the agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also in its final stages.
"It was not appropriate for Asad Umar to leave the ground this way," the former finance minister said.
He further said his party pointed to Imran Khan's "lies" over the past three weeks.
"We pointed to the dropping of inflation bomb on the masses. We also gave suggestions to the government as to how could the economy be fixed," Dar recalled.
"They did not listen to anything, and today, Asad Umar is resigning, which is inappropriate."
- Marriyum Aurangzeb
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb asked if Umar’s policies were so good and the problems were from the PML-N government, why was he asked to step down.
"This is an admission by IK that his policies have created an economic crisis in Pakistan. The real problem is not Asad. It is the PM," Aurangzeb tweeted.
- Rehman Malik
Former interior minister and PPP leader, Senator Rehman Malik tweeted that Asad Umar had been made a scapegoat to cover the failures of the government.
“Govt needs to make Economic structural changes by utilising all available resources & plan out the National debt retirement.”
- Shahzeb Khanzada
Journalist and host of Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Shahzeb Khanzada said Prime Minister Imran Khan for the last eight years had been presenting Asad Umar answer to Pakistan’s economic woes.
“In 8 months, Imran Khan is not satisfied with his own answer.”
- Salman Masood
Salman Masood the correspondent for the New York Times in Pakistan tweeted that in cricketing terms Asad Umar was batting too slow, making no runs and captain feared he might cause several run outs.
