Ishaq Dar is paving the way for him to become the new finance minister, replacing Miftah Ismail whose fate was sealed at three crucial meetings held at a central London apartment.
While Dar took oath as a senator in Islamabad, Miftah remains in London with his wife.
The first meeting on replacing Miftah was held before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left for New York from London. The meeting was held between PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, the PM and Dar with efforts made to keep the location of these meetings secret.
Unlike all previous meetings, the first of the three meetings on this issue was not held at Hasan Nawaz Sharif’s office but at Jawad Sohrab Malik’s apartment, a businessman from Islamabad.
The second meeting was held on Saturday between the Sharif brothers, Dar and a few others at the same apartment. It was initially reported that the meeting was being held at a secret location but the curtains and furniture of the apartment indicated that the meeting was not held at the Avenfield flats, Ishaq Dar’s house, or Hasan Nawaz’s office.
Media persons ran to several locations to track the movements of PML-N leaders on Saturday when pictures of Nawaz and PM Shehbaz whispering into each other’s ears emerged. A second picture showed a wider room featuring Dar in the frame with the two brothers at an upscale building.