Wahab quits as PPP information secretary

Former Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira appointed new information secretary of PPP.

ISLAMABAD:

Amidst rumours swirling around her status, Fauzia Wahab resigned from the position of information secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Saturday.

Addressing the media during a visit to the PPP Media Cell, Wahab did not expand on the reasons for her exit, saying only that she had tendered her resignation due to personal reasons. Wahab did, however, stress that her controversial comment regarding US national Raymond Davis – who, she said, was a diplomat and hence had immunity under the law – was her “personal opinion and did not reflect party policy.”

She said that, following her statement at the Karachi Press Club, someone filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and she was issued notice to appear before the court and record her statement. “It is better to resign rather than to go to record my statement before the Lahore High Court,” she said.

However, Wahab said that she will continue to work with the PPP.

When asked about her absence from the recent PPP core committee meeting, said that her statement regarding Davis was not on the agenda hence the party did not call her.

Earlier, there had been reports that Wahab had been dismissed from her post and that former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira had been appointed in her place.

However, these reports were not corroborated by the presidential spokesperson.

Yet, on Saturday, Kaira’s appointment to the post was confirmed following Wahab’s resignation through an intra-party notification issued with the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Kaira has also been appointed a member of the PPP Central Executive Committee.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2011.