Pak's former finance minister Shaukat Tarin quits Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, politics

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former finance minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shaukat Tarin announced on Friday that he is quitting the party and politics, reported ARY News.

In a statement, Tarin said, "I have decided to quit PTI and politics after consulting with friends and family members."

"The last two years were very difficult for me due to health and financial issues," he added.

"In 2008-10 as finance minister under PPP, I helped save the country from impending default and stabilized the economy. Also concluded a consensus on National Finance Commission award after 19 years," he further said.

He went on to say that as the finance minister during the PTI government, he "clocked the best economic performance in 17 years as stated in the economic survey of Pakistan of 2022".

Earlier, Tarin served as an advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, according to ARY News, adding that he was appointed as the finance minister in 2021.

Moreover, he was elected as a senator last week in the by-election for a general seat in the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Additionally, Tarin also served as the finance minister in former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani's cabinet from 2009 to 2010, ARY News reported.

However, the former deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly and fireband Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi announced on Thursday to quit PTI as well as politics.

Sharing on social media X, the former MPA from Rawalpindi, Abbasi, said that he had decided to leave PTI due to the party's policy of confronting state institutions.

Adding to this, he said, "My political career is aimed at serving the people but now it is unbearable to hold the burden of confrontation with the state and its institutions."