ISLAMABAD: Members to the Senate’s Finance Committee on Thursday demanded the finance minister be replaced. “Saner voices even within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have already underlined need to appoint an advisor on Finance by making Dar as non-functional Finance Minister if he does not resign at all,” they said. “Apart from calls from the opposition parties demanding Dar’s resignation, Asian Development Bank also pointed out in its recent report that a “possible loss of momentum in policy decision making may hamper growth prospects.” “Above all Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed concern on the other day by saying that Pakistan needed to expand tax base, bring in financial discipline and ensure continuity of policies to be able to break the begging bowl.” During Thursday’s meeting, members to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance were upset due to non-availability of Finance Minister Dar even to the upper house committee. Committee Chairman Senator Saleem Mandviwala was of the view that the office of the finance minister was not functional (for Dar’s preoccupation with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references filled against him under the Supreme Court decision in Panama case). ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs in its meeting on Thursday has decided to put on its agenda for the next meeting that the Finance Minister should appear in the meeting and brief about the economic situation of the country. The committee was told by officials from finance division that the programme of loans/budgetary support has not been suspended by the World Bank for Pakistan as reported in press. The committee chairman observed that it had been attributed as a statement of World Bank that programme has been suspended owing to deteriorating macroeconomic indicators. The committee directed that if it was not true the finance division should present a substantial evidence from the World Bank. Published in Daily Times, October 13th 2017.