Immediately after taking office, Abbasi made himself the head of major cabinet committees dealing with economic matters, including those that fall under the domain of Finance Minister, in order to consolidate more power and to get a grip on financial issues. This usurpation minimised the powers of the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who was once considered as a de facto deputy Prime Minister under Nawaz Sharif. On 28 August, he restructured the eight member Council of Common Interests by increasing the seats of members from Punjab from two to four, making the council Punjab-dominated.