ISLAMABAD: Miftah Ismail took oath as Pakistan’s new federal minister for finance, on Friday, just hours before being due to announce the country’s fiscal budget for 2018-2019.
The oath ceremony was held at President House, where President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath.
Members of the federal cabinet, politicians and senior government official attended the ceremony.
Before taking up his new post, Ismail was an adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs.
A member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), he has served as head of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, Chairman of Federal Board of Investment, and briefly as Chairman of the Privatization Commission.
He was director of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and chairman of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGL).
Ismail has also worked as an economist at the IMF in Washington. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and mathematics from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, in the United States. He has a master’s as well as a doctorate in public finance and political economy from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
