Pakistan Finance Minister Steps Down From Cabinet Amid IMF Talks

(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar stepped down from the cabinet after Prime Minister Imran Khan attempted to move him to the government’s energy portfolio as the country continues to negotiate an International Monetary Fund bailout.

“As part of a cabinet reshuffle PM desired that I take the energy minister portfolio instead of finance. However, I have obtained his consent to not take any cabinet position,” Umar said Thursday on Twitter.

Umar’s decision comes as he led negotiations for what would be Pakistan’s 13th IMF support program since the late 1980s amid prolonged media speculation that he would be moved from the finance ministry as the economy continued to falter. Umar was in Washington for talks with the lender last week, ahead of an IMF delegation visit to Islamabad at the end of April.

To contact the reporter on this story: Faseeh Mangi in Karachi at fmangi@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Khalid Qayum

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