The Pakistani prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf controversially appointed his son-in-law Raja Azeem-ul-Haq Minhas as World Bank alternate executive director (ED) in December, replacing previous ED Javed Talat whose term had expired. The seven-member constituency rotates the ED chair between Pakistan and Algeria, so Azeem-ul-Huq is expected to take the ED post in two years time. Azeem-ul-Haq’s appointment, reportedly opposed by both the finance minister and principal secretary because of his relative inexperience, was secured using the prime minister’s “discretionary powers” according to newspaper Express Tribune. Azeem-ul-Haq was working in his father-in-law’s office before the appointment as alternate ED.