Miftah Ismail denies joining any party

Miftah Ismail, former leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and ex-finance minister, Monday rebuked rumours regarding his joining a political party.

His remarks come after a local daily citing sources had reported that Miftah would join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and his talks with the Bilawal Bhutto-led party were in the final stages.

"Miftah Ismail will soon officially announce joining PPP," sources had told the publication.

In response, Miftah to X, formerly Twitter, to dismiss such media reports. saying that he has in fact left politics.

"The news is not true. I have for now stepped back from politics and am not joining any political party," he said.

In June of this year, Miftah announced that he was stepping down as PML-N's Sindh general secretary and all other party positions.

Miftah had announced the decision after months of bitterness over his removal and the subsequent appointment of Ishaq Dar as the finance minister in September 2022.

The former finance czar announced his resignation from the party office in a letter to Ahsan Iqbal, PML-N secretary general.

Since he relinquished the finance ministry portfolio, Miftah has been criticising the current political system, with much of it aimed at his successor as he failed to steer the country out of the economic crises.

But while Miftah castigated Dar openly, the PML-N was not happy with his attitude as Shehbaz Sharif, the party president and then-prime minister, said there's no space for people criticising the finance minister.

In his resignation letter, Miftah said given the upcoming reorganisation of the party structure, "I think it’s time for me to make official what is already true and move on".

"I, therefore, tender my resignation as General Secretary of PMLN Sindh and also resign from all party committees," Miftah, who has served as the finance minister twice, said.

Miftah mentioned that he was thankful to the party leadership for entrusting him with responsibilities not only in the party but also in the government.

Since his departure from government, Miftah along with former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former PPP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar kicked off a nationwide debate called "Reimagining Pakistan".

The seminars addressed a wide range of issues and expressed regret over the failure to adequately address the issues. The trio held several seminars in different cities.