Muhammad Ishaq Dar is a senior Pakistani politician who served as Pakistan’s federal minister for Finance and Revenue for a record four terms. He is currently a senator of Pakistan.
Early Life and Education
Dar was born in the year 1950. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of the Punjab’s Hailey College of Commerce in Lahore, where he studied from 1966 to 1969. He then attended Lahore’s Government College University. Dar received two merit gold medals and a roll of honour for achieving first place in B. Com. (Hons) at the University of Punjab.
Dar graduated as a chartered accountant in 1974 and became an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan as an associate member in 1975. In 1980, he was elected a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and in 1984, he was elected a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He is currently a member of the Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Early Career
Dar is a chartered and management accountant, as well as an economist. Dar worked as the director of finance for a London-based textile company from 1974 until 1976. He travelled to Libya in 1976 and worked for the Libyan government as a senior auditor at the Auditor General’s Department in Tripoli. When he returned to Pakistan in 1977, he joined a chartered accounting business and, in 1980, he became a financial adviser to Nazir & Company, a multinational construction enterprise.
Political Career
Entry into politics and the first Sharif ministry
In the late 1980s, Dar embarked on his political journey within the Pakistan Muslim League (N) as a part of its central executive committee (CEC). His close ties with the Sharif family began in 1990, during which he acknowledged involvement in laundering “$14.68 million and setting up two bank accounts under false names for Nawaz Sharif’s brother” while under detention following the 1999 Pakistani coup d’état.
Nawaz Sharif appointed Dar as Chairman of the Pakistan Board of Investment with the status of Minister of State from 1992 to 1993. After President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the Sharif ministry in 1993, Dar assumed the presidency of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Dar’s inaugural foray into the National Assembly occurred through a bye-election following the 1993 Pakistani general election, where he secured victory with a 62% vote share (39,483 votes). Subsequently, the dismissal of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s government and the dissolution of the National Assembly took place in 1996 under President Farooq Leghari.
Second Sharif ministry
During the 1997 elections, Dar secured victory in Lahore’s NA-97 National Assembly constituency running on a PML-N ticket, amassing 61,556 votes. With the PML-N securing a decisive majority, Dar held the post of Federal Minister for Industries and Investment from February to July 1997.
Later that year, in December 1997, he was appointed as the Federal Minister for Commerce. Following India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998 and the subsequent economic sanctions imposed on Pakistan, Dar assumed the role of Minister for Finance. He played a pivotal role in negotiating an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package to alleviate the severe economic repercussions.
However, the political landscape shifted dramatically in 1999 when General Pervez Musharraf orchestrated a military coup, toppling the Sharif ministry. Dar faced close to two years of imprisonment under Musharraf on corruption charges that never progressed to trial. Despite the pressure, he remained steadfast in his allegiance to the PML-N and Sharif. During his detention in 2000, Dar accused Nawaz Sharif of involvement in money laundering during the late 1990s and confessed to laundering US$14.86 million in connection with the Hudabia Paper Mills case, a statement he later asserted was made under duress.
Upon release, with Musharraf still in power, Dar relocated to the United Arab Emirates, operating as a financial adviser. Among his clients was a member of the ruling family. In 2002, he assumed the presidency of PML-N’s International Affairs wing.
Third Sharif Ministry
Dar wielded significant influence within the PML-N’s candidate selection for the 2013 general election. Post their victory, he assumed a pivotal role as Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics, and Privatisation, holding extensive responsibilities. Dar chaired critical committees, including the Special Parliamentary Committee on Election Reforms and the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). Although cleared of corruption allegations by NAB in 2016, the Panama Papers case led to his Supreme Court disqualification in July 2017.
Despite his reappointment as Finance Minister by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Dar’s authority was diminished after the court ruling. Encountering legal troubles and health challenges, he faced reduced responsibilities and an arrest warrant for missing court appearances. Consequently, he resigned as Finance Minister in November 2017. Although relinquishing the finance portfolio, he retained a position as a federal minister without a portfolio. His economic policies, credited with stabilising Pakistan’s economy, faced criticism for accumulating foreign loans and manipulating statistics.
Prime Minister Abbasi appointed Miftah Ismail as Dar’s successor. In 2023, Pakistan sought US assistance to revive the IMF program to address economic hardships resulting from floods and global economic conditions.
Fourth Tenure as Pakistan's Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue
Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar now serves as Minister of Finance and Revenue, from September 28, 2022. He is also the current Leader of the House in Pakistan’s Senate, where he represents the federal government and regulates government activities on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Dar submitted Pakistan’s case to the US administration in January 2023, seeking assistance in resurrecting an IMF program to help the economy recover from floods and global economic issues.
The Curious Case of a Misattributed Award
Back in October 2016, the Finance Ministry proudly announced an award naming Dar the “Finance Minister of the Year for South Asia,” supposedly bestowed by an entity associated with the IMF. But things took a turn when the IMF clarified that they had no connection with the publication that presented the award; it was an independent publication. Interestingly, it came to light that five Pakistani state-owned companies had backed the specific edition of Emerging Markets, which featured a section dedicated to Pakistan.
Personal Life
Dar descends from a family of Kashmiri tradesmen and entrepreneurs. He is often considered as the Sharif family’s most trusted aide. Dar’s eldest son married Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Asma Nawaz, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2004.
Dar also leads two charitable organisations. These trusts attempt to give shelter for homeless children or orphans, student scholarships, and mass wedding ceremonies for the less fortunate.
Dar is also a successful entrepreneur, businessman, and investor, with reported assets of PKR. 583 million and interests in Pakistan Investment Bonds worth PKR. 325 million. All of his assets, as well as those owned by his charitable organisations and his family, have been unfrozen as of February 2022 per court decisions.