LAHORE: Former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said it is the prerogative of the incumbent prime minister to appoint the finance minister of his choice.

“It is the discretion of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to bring back Ishaq Dar Sahib (to Pakistan and appoint him as the finance minister),” he told reporters in Multan on Sunday when asked about reports that former finance minister Dar was set to become the country’s financial czar once again.

Mr Dar left Pakistan in November 2017 citing health reasons and went to London, where he is living in self-exile. He is scheduled to return to the country along with Prime Minister Sharif on Monday (today) to resume his assignment as finance minister, replacing Miftah Ismail.

Commenting on the premier’s audio leak, Mr Gilani said Prime Minister House should issue an explanation in this regard.

In reply to a question about Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, the PPP leader said the former prime minister himself fled from the field after uprooting stumps.

Earlier, Mr Gilani said flood-induced devastation was the biggest issue facing the country today, and it was not specific to one province or region.

He said both Prime Mini­ster Sharif and Foreign Mini­ster Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari led an aggressive campaign to bring in as much financial aid as possible for flood victims during their interaction with world leaders on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly session.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2022