KARACHI: Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said on Saturday the Ministry of Finance has lost credibility under Ishaq Dar who now spends most part of his day fighting corruption cases in the accountability court.

Addressing a press conference, he said Mr Dar should resign immediately and demanded that an “economic emergency” be imposed to pull the country back from the verge of a default.

“The World Bank has said that Pakistan faces serious challenges,” he said, adding that the country will default in four months if remedial actions are not taken immediately.

He also alluded to the possibility that the PML-N was “deliberately” throwing the country into chaos. “For the first time in history, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have refused to meet the country’s finance minister. What’s the point of sending the interior minister to Washington DC?” he said.

PPP Karachi Division President Dr Asim Hussain made a presentation that criticised the government for expensive borrowing, declining exports, widening trade and current account deficits, rising electricity and gas prices and growing circular debt.

Criticising Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal for rebuking the military spokesperson for his comment on the state of the economy, both leaders said national institutions have the right to air their concerns publicly.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017