–PM appoints Shibli Faraz as federal minister for information, Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa as SAPM in place of Firdous Ashiq
–Firdous denies removal on corruption allegations, says it’s PM’s prerogative to reshuffle his team
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday de-notified Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as his special assistant on information and broadcasting reportedly over corruption allegations, replacing her with former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa.
The PM also appointed Senator Shibli Faraz as federal minister for information.
“The prime minister … has been pleased to appoint Lt Gen (Rtd) Asim Saleem Bajwa as special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, in [an] honorary capacity, with immediate effect,” a notification issued by the Cabinet Division said.
Asim Saleem Bajwa and Shibli Faraz
A second notification read: “The prime minister has been pleased to remove Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan from the office of special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, with immediate effect.”
The retired general, who had earlier served as the head of military’s media wing, is also the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority.
In 2018, Shibli Faraz, the son of renowned poet Ahmad Faraz, was appointed as Leader of the House in Senate. He has also served as chairman of the Senate’s standing committee on commerce. Shibli is also a member of committees responsible for planning and development, water and climate change.
CORRUPTION IN GOVT ADS:
An informed source told Pakistan Today that an intelligence agency had recently informed the Prime Minister’s Office about the alleged involvement of Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and a senior official of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in awarding government advertisements to some media houses in lieu of bribes.
The source said that following the intelligence tip-off, Prime Minister Imran tasked Information Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, who is known for his honesty and professionalism, to probe the allegations. The source added that upon investigation, a senior official of the information ministry pointed to the involvement of Dr Firdous in corruption.
The source said that on Monday, Firdous was summoned to PM Office where PM’s principal Secretary Azam Khan confronted her with the findings of the inquiry and directed her to step down from the position. The former SAPM was also informed that she had violated the rules of business by acquiring additional vehicles and employees without authorisation.
The source claimed that Firdous also made political appointments in Pakistan Television (PTV) exceeding its requirement on the quota. Moreover she had also inducted a sweeper and security guard for personal use from the PTV’s job quota.
“Firdous refused to resign and insisted on meeting the prime minister to clarify her position. However, the PM did not give her an audience and she was de-notified from her office a few hours later,” the source claimed.
Pakistan Today made repeated attempts to contact Firdous for her comments but she remained unavailable on the phone.
Taking to Twitter later in the night, Firdous thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for trusting her, saying it was his prerogative to decide which member of his team will serve on what position. “I respect his decision,” she added.
She also refuted news reports claiming she was removed from her office due to alleged corruption, terming them “concocted” and “baseless”.
“As a political worker, my objective is the country’s progress and the welfare of the people, which will continue under the PM’s leadership,” Awan wrote, congratulating Faraz and Bajwa on their appointments.
It is worth mentioning here that Fawad Chaudhry held the information portfolio after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came into power. However, he was made science and technology minister in April 2019, and was replaced by Dr Firdous who became the de facto information minister.
Firdous was a PPP stalwart before she joined the PTI in May 2017.
She began her political career in 1990 with a focus on improving the healthcare system, and founded the Society for Health and Development and Exchange.
In 2002, she was elected to NA-286 on a reserved seat for women. In 2008, she successfully contested the NA-111 poll and was appointed the federal minister for population welfare. She later served as the information minister in the PPP government.
In 2013, she again contested the NA-111 poll but this time was unsuccessful. In 2015, she resigned as the PPP Punjab vice president before joining the PTI two years later.
FELICITATIONS:
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari congratulated Faraz on becoming the information minister, terming him “an old PTI member and a dignified man with gravitas”.
Referring to Faraz as an “honourable and dignified man”, Fawad Chaudhry on Twitter said the senator and the “brilliant” Bajwa will both make “a great team”.
Former Pakistan ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi in a tweet said the changes were a “good move by the government”.
On April 6, Prime Minister Imran had reshuffled his federal cabinet a few days after an FIA report identified that top PTI leaders benefited the most, with others, from the sugar crisis
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar resigned from the ministry but PM Imran appointed him as minister for economic affairs, replacing Hammad Azhar.
Azhar was assigned the portfolio of industries, Azam Swati was made the minister of narcotics control. Babar Awan was made the advisor for parliamentary affairs, replacing Swati.
The PM also accepted the resignation of Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as federal minister and appointed MQMP’s Amin-ul-Haq as federal minister for telecommunication.
