Pakistan appoints new finance minister amid economic crisis

Pakistan appointed a new finance minister on Monday as the improverished nation struggles to recover from an economic crisis worsened by deadly floods.

Ishaq Dar, a senior figure in the Pakistan Muslim League party, has been finance minister three times.

His challenges will be to convince the International Monetary Fund to soften some of its conditions under which Pakistan received a $6 billion bailout in 2019 and to deal with the economic devastation caused by unprecedented flooding.

He will also have to tackle a sharp rise in inflation and stabilize the rupee against the dollar.

Dar's appointment also comes as the impoverished nation is struggling with the aftermath of historic flooding, which has killed more than a thousand people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

He was sworn in during a brief ceremony attended by President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad.

On Tuesday, Sharif praised Dar’s predecessor, Miftah Ismail, for playing a key role in averting a possible default because of his brilliant handling of the ministry in recent months.

Dar, an accountant, faces a corruption case and is due to appear in an anti-graft court on Wednesday. He says he has been falsely implicated in the case.

He returned to Pakistan on Monday after five years of self-exile in the UK.