Ishaq Dar Amendment Now Targets Murad Saeed, Says Rana Sanaullah

Islamabad:Prime Minister’s Advisor Rana Sanaullah has said that the legal amendment originally introduced to target Ishaq Dar may now be used against PTI Senator-elect Murad Saeed. Speaking on a private TV channel, Rana Sanaullah explained that if Murad Saeed, who is currently absconding in several cases and has arrest warrants issued against him, secures bail and appears for his oath-taking, he should be allowed to do so.

The advisor noted that when Ishaq Dar was elected as Senator in 2018, he delayed taking the oath, leading the then PTI government to introduce a legal amendment specifying a time frame within which elected members must take their oath — or risk disqualification. This amendment, originally meant to disqualify Dar, could now apply to Murad Saeed.

Sanaullah emphasized that the Senate Chairman cannot administer the oath to someone with active arrest warrants unless they secure legal relief first. “If Murad Saeed takes bail and comes for the oath, he should be allowed,” he added.

PTI’s Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, commented that the law previously allowed indefinite delay in oath-taking, but the 2018 amendment introduced a specific time limit. However, he noted that legal ambiguity still exists — especially in differentiating between someone who deliberately avoids the oath and someone unable to do so due to legitimate constraints.

He referred to the Ishaq Dar case, where Dar had claimed that his absence was due to unavoidable circumstances, not deliberate avoidance — making the law inapplicable to him at the time. Zafar added, “In my opinion, Murad Saeed will have to take the oath within a few months.”

Rana Sanaullah concluded by reiterating that while the amendment was introduced specifically for Ishaq Dar, it will now impact Murad Saeed in a similar fashion.