Miftah Ismail says the decision to remove him had been made before he was summoned to London, while Ishaq Dar had assured him that petrol prices would be reduced after he became finance minister.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 16th Sep, 2026) Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says Nawaz Sharif summoned him to London, humiliated him in front of 15 people and took his resignation.
Speaking in a podcast, he said the decision to remove him had already been made before he was called to London and that Ishaq Dar was to become finance minister. Dar had assured people that he would reduce petrol prices after becoming finance minister, even promising to cut the price by Rs35 per litre every week.
Ismail said Nawaz Sharif did not know that these matters were taking place because of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with their own role being very limited. He said the matter then moved within the party, where Hanif Abbasi, Abid Sher Ali and others were made to speak against him.
Ismail said Dar’s principle was that the Dollar should remain below 140, and that even now he would say it should be below 240.
He said that after the decision was made, General Bajwa may have been consulted and Nadeem Anjum may also have played a role, after which they agreed.
Similarly, when Ishaq Dar returned, the NAB cases were also closed.
When I went to New York, I was asked whether I was being removed. I replied that I did not know and that I would leave when I was removed. The prime minister was travelling to London on his plane and called me, asking me to meet him.
I was invited to Salman Shehbaz’s house, where Nawaz Sharif complained to me. He said he had asked why petrol prices were increased once, and why they had been raised. I told him that he should have spoken to me directly instead of conveying it through newspaper reports.
I have had a very long association with him. Nawaz Sharif is a person who gives respect, but I wondered what he was doing by taking my resignation in front of 15 people. I am also a respectable businessman; if he had asked me, I would have resigned myself.
