‘He has not resigned’: Finance Ministry clarifies after rumours that minister Asad Umar quit create confusion
Finance Minister Asad Umar has not resigned, the ministry clarified after rumours of him quitting had Pakistanis confused.
Rumours on social media had it that Asad Umar resigned as finance minister after altercation with Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) fellow Jahangir Tareen.
The Finance Ministry, however, issued a statement and refuted the rumours. It also said that healthy debates are part of political culture and that Asad Umar has no plans to quit.
The rumours had people really confused.
Twitter reacts to Asad Umar quitting Finance Ministry rumours
‘Any truth in the rumours?’
Any truth in rumour Asad Umar has resigned?
— Gul Bukhari (@GulBukhari) December 3, 2018
‘Enough of this circus’
For the sake of a stable economic future of Pakistan, if Asad Umar is not tendering his resignation when asked to, he should be sacked. Enough of the circus!
— Syed Ali Raza Abidi (@abidifactor) December 3, 2018
Users were quick to criticize the ruling PTI government
Asad Umar resigned. IK talking about early elections. It’s very clear now, how worst this government performed in last 100 days.
— Saleem Khawaja (@Saleem1_Khawaja) December 3, 2018
Others accused Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s ‘WhatsApp’ group of spreading rumours
Do not believe in news about Asad Umar- Jahangir Tareen tussle. As usual, Maryam Safdar's what's app group is trying to create rifts in PTI. Be united and counter this propaganda.
— Ali Raza (@AliRazaTweets) December 3, 2018
Asad Umar is receiving severe criticism due to the recent Dollar hike. On Friday last week, the US Dollar broke all records as it hit an all-time high of Rs144 during intraday trading.
It did go down to Rs140 by the evening, but the soar is unbelievably high still. According to Dawn News, the Rs10 rise in the value of the US dollar was owning to PTI government’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Also read: ‘Ashamed and disappointed’: Dollar hike lands PTI in more trouble
Despite the backlash, Prime Minister Imran Khan fully backs the finance minister and believes that he is the right person for the job, sources told Dunya News. It is clear that pressure is mounting on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and urgent action is needed.
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