Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin will have to vacate office on October 15 he does not find a seat in Parliament by then. As he heads the Pakistan team when negotiations begin with the IMF on October 5, it has become urgent that the seat be found so that everyone (the Finance Ministry, the negotiating team and the IMF) should know that the head of the Pakistan team was there to stay, and not on his way out, that any commitments he made were firm, not made by someone who knew they might be repudiated by a successor. The easiest way out is for the Senate seat from Punjab, presently held by Ishaq Dar to be declared vacant, and for Mr Tarin to contest the by-election to fill it.
In the unlikely event of Senator Dar coming from abroad and taking oath before October 10, when the 40-day grace period for those who have not taken oath within 60 days of election ends, or in the event of his obtaining a stay from the Election Commission; if he is declared unseated, there is the option of getting a senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to resign, and let Mr Tarin be elected from there. It is likelier than not that there will be a brief period between the expiration of the time limit given him by the Constitution to find a seat, and his actually finding one. He will probably be appointed PM’s Adviser for this time. An announcement of the government’s plans will come before the IMF talks begin, so that if Mr Tarin has not found a seat, it should be clear that he will, and was the Permanent Finance Minister, not a placeholder.
It goes to Mr Tarin’s credit that he foresaw this difficulty at the time of his appointment, perhaps because he had experienced a similar situation the last time he was Finance Minister. However, it goes to the discredit of the government that it has left such an important matter so late. Its inability to get a Senator from KP or Punjab to resign not only speaks badly of its party discipline; it renders the Senate useless as a House where the government can park its men of business.
