Pakistani politician and economist
Miftah Ismail (Urdu: مفتاح اسماعیل; born 23 July ) is a Pakistanipolitical economist who served as the Federal Minister of Finance from April to September He had previously served in the same office, from April to May in Khaqan Abbasi's cabinet. Prior to that, he served as the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, chairman of the Pakistan Board of Investment and an economist with the International Monetary Fund.[3][4] He is the current Secretary of the Awaam Pakistan party, a political party he co-founded alongside former Pakistani prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
He was born on 23 July in Karachi, Sindh. Ismail received his undergraduate degree in business from Duquesne University in , followed by a Ph.D. in public finance and political economy from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Ismail worked with the International Monetary Fund as an economist based in Washington, D.C. in the early s.[2]
In , he returned to Pakistan to work for his family business, Ismail Industries Limited, a confectionary and snack food manufacturer.[5][6]
Ismail joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in and served as the head and vice-chairman of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade from to [5]
During the Pakistani general election, Ismail served as a member of the election strategy team and the manifesto committee of Pakistan Muslim League (N).[7] In October , Ismail became a member of the Board of Directors of Pakistan International Airlines. In November , he joined the Board of Directors of Sui Southern Gas Company.[6] Both of these positions he retained until 4 January , when he was appointed as the head of Federal Board of Investment and was added as a junior member of then Prime Minister Sharif's cabinet.[8][6] Under his leadership the Board of Investment underwent massive restructuring including winding up of its regional offices.[9][10] During his tenure at the Board of Investment, the government of Pakistan formulated a new automobile sector policy that has attracted a lot of new investment in the automobile sector.[citation needed]
Ismail has served as adjunct faculty at the Institute of Business Administration and also as chairman of board at Karachi American School.[5]
In December , Miftah was appointed as a finance adviser to then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.[2][11] In April , Ismail took oath as Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's cabinet, where he served until 31 May [12]
In , Ismail was reappointed to as finance minister but resigned in September of the same year, paving the way for the return of Ishaq Dar Rehan Sheikh. [13]
In June , he was removed by PML(N) as the general secretary of the party, allegedly due to his criticism of Dar's economic policies and dislike by then Chief Organizer of the PML(N), Maryam Nawaz.[14] Later, in the same month, he resigned from all senior positions of the PML(N) and party committees.[15]