Pakistan targets new IMF deal with banker atop Finance Ministry

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and its new finance minister are setting their sights on a fresh deal with the International Monetary Fund, although the former banker’s appointment and other cabinet picks have raised eyebrows.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, 59 and a Dutch citizen until his appointment, was given the finance portfolio last week as returning Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assembled his cabinet following the country’s controversial Feb. 8 elections. Aurangzeb was previously CEO of Pakistan’s largest bank, Habib Bank, after a career at major Western institutions including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.