AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah tasked a former World Bank economist on Tuesday with forming a new government and called for broad talks on a planned income tax law that has provoked the country’s biggest protests in years.

The king appointed Harvard-educated Omar al-Razzaz after accepting Hani Mulki’s resignation as prime minister, attempting to defuse public anger over IMF-driven reforms.

Reports on Monday of Razzaz’s impending appointment did not entirely quell the protests. About 2,000 people rallied overnight demanding the tax law be withdrawn.

Price increases, after a steep rise in general sales tax and the abolition of bread subsidies earlier this year, have brought thousands of people onto the streets of Amman and other parts of Jordan in recent days.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2018