Ishaq Dar becomes Pak's FM

Islamabad: Cash-strapped Pakistan on Wednesday turned to Ishaq Dar, a three-time former finance minister, to steer the country's economy out of the woods and the impact of the unprecedented floods after he ended five years of self-exile in the UK.

The 72-year-old senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who had been in self-exile since 2017 after being accused in a corruption case, was appointed as the finance minister a day after he was sworn in as a Senator amid loud protests by former premier Imran Khan's party members who shouted slogans, calling him a "thief" and an "absconder."

President Arif Alvi administered the oath to Dar, who had been Pakistan's finance minister three times, during a ceremony here which was also attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Dar, a chartered accountant by profession, returned to Pakistan on Monday after five years of self-exile in the UK, saying he had been unable to return because the former administration, led by Imran Khan, had cancelled his passport.