PM Abbasi removes Ishaq Dar as ECC chairman as NAB prepares to file reference against finance minister

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has removed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Friday.

Dar's removal comes days after Abbasi sworn in as prime minister on August 1 following the ouster of Nawaz Sharif from the office.

The ECC has traditionally been chaired by the federal finance minister and the prime minister is not usually involved in its affairs. Its members include the ministers of 10 key federal ministries.

But Abbasi will now serve as the ECC chairman, says the notification, while Dar will remain a member of the committee and will chair meetings of the ECC in case of Abbasi's absence.

Five ministries - railways, power, communications, statistics, water resources, and privatisation - have also been added to the ECC.

The decision comes ahead the National Accountability Bureau prepares to file a reference against Dar for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income in accordance with the Supreme Court's verdict that disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.