Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved the appointment of PML-N lawmaker Rana Afzal as state minister for finance.

The MNA from Faisalabad is currently the parliamentary secretary for finance. His appointment comes a month after former finance minister Ishaq Dar requested the PM for 'leave', after which the top job in the Ministry of Finance was left vacant.

Dar, who is facing a corruption trial, has been in London allegedly receiving medical treatment for heart problems.

Speaking to DawnNews, Afzal said the prime minister had approved his appointment as state minister for finance. He said the Cabinet Division would issue a notification to this effect soon, after which he would take oath.

Afzal, who was elected to the Lower House from the NA-82 constituency, obtained an engineering degree from NED, Karachi, and an MA in Political Science from Balochistan University, Quetta.

He was commissioned in the Pakistan Army and served as a captain from 1971 to 1976.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Afzal served in a variety of positions, including as a member of the executive committee at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and vice chairman at the Water and Sanitation Agency.

He also served as an MPA in the Punjab Assembly from 1997 to 1999 and returned for a second term during the 2008 General Election.