ISLAMABAD: You might have heard about the game of musical chairs that happened at the Presidency today when at the last minute seats in the Darbar Hall were re-adjusted and the ‘would-be’ federal finance minister Dr Mushtaq Khan was asked to move and sit among the guests.
A top protocol officer of the President House came to Dr Khan and told him that his name has been dropped from the list and therefore he was requested to leave the oath-taking table.
But Dr Khan did not move, saying that he is 'a confirmed minister'.
Later, another top official came to him and whispered and started dragging his chair after which he left and his chair was removed.
Later the media invited at the Presidency started to probe as to why Dr Khan was suddenly dropped from becoming the minister.
There were rumors that he was not cleared by the security, but later it was proved that without security clearance a person cannot be nominated as finance minister.
Governor State Bank Yasin Anwer who was also present at the oath taking ceremony told DawnNews after the event that Dr Mushtaq Khan is working as chief economist with the State Bank of Pakistan.
“The Bank Act does not permit an official of the SBP to hold a ministerial office. The authorities who picked Dr Khan as finance minister knew that he is with the central bank, but did not know the rules which bar him from becoming the minister,” he said.
When asked about the ordeal he had gone through, an embarrassed Dr Khan said that he was not informed about the reason for being dropped from the cabinet list.
