According to two persons familiar with the subject, Pakistan’s new administration has chosen Miftah Ismail as its new finance minister ahead of important meetings with the International Monetary Fund.
PM Shehbaz Sharif, who took office on Monday, could appoint Ismail, a former finance minister, and the rest of the cabinet within 24 hours.
People said that the government formed by several political parties’ alliances is still in talks over the allocation of portfolios, and a final decision has not yet been made.
Ismail can be many of the officers liable for negotiating with the IMF to renew software that went into jeopardy after former Prime Minister Imran Khan all at once reduced electricity prices, despite a settlement with the lender for the opposite.
The government’s economic team also has to grapple with Asia’s second-fastest inflation and falling foreign exchange reserves, which have failed to levels that can fund just a few months’ worth of imports.
The country’s central bank has raised interest rates to their highest level since 1996 to help ease the situation.
