‘Voluntary’ resignation
Azam Khan Swati steps down as Federal Minister for Science and Technology
And finally, Azam Khan Swati has stepped down as Federal Minister for Science and Technology. Swati is facing a case in the Supreme Court pertaining to ‘illegal’ transfer of IGP Islamabad Jan Muhammad that was ordered in the wake of the PTI leader’s quarrel with a slum dweller on a petty issue — the poor man’s cow had trespassed on the then minister’s plush farmhouse. Swati, also a Senator, says he stepped down “to uphold my moral authority” and the government sees a glimpse of Naya Pakistan in the ‘voluntary’ resignation, with Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry claiming that such a “culture of self-accountability, introduced by Prime Minister Imran Khan, is prevalent only in advanced democratic countries”.
This display of “democratic traditions that are the face of Naya Pakistan” only came after the Supreme Court declared that Swati could be tried under Article 62(1)(f) — the same constitutional provision that saw ex-PM Nawaz Sharif disqualified for life from parliamentary politics. The JIT formed on the court orders not only found Swati guilty of misuse of power in the scuffle with the poor family of Islamabad, but also raised questions on his dealings with authorities in the United States over some immigration and tax matters. It was then that Swati felt the prick of conscience and decided to “defend my case without any authority or portfolio”.
The whole saga also speaks of the credulity of the PM who was easily misguided by Swati into ordering the transfer of an official as big as IGP, on the fake pretext of deriding the government. Incidents like this have happened earlier. Remember how police chief in district Pakpattan was forced by none other than the Punjab CM to seek apology from somebody with links in the PM House. The Supreme Court action in such cases is a constant reminder of the government’s failings over its claims of having depoliticised bureaucracy, especially the police.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2018.
This display of “democratic traditions that are the face of Naya Pakistan” only came after the Supreme Court declared that Swati could be tried under Article 62(1)(f) — the same constitutional provision that saw ex-PM Nawaz Sharif disqualified for life from parliamentary politics. The JIT formed on the court orders not only found Swati guilty of misuse of power in the scuffle with the poor family of Islamabad, but also raised questions on his dealings with authorities in the United States over some immigration and tax matters. It was then that Swati felt the prick of conscience and decided to “defend my case without any authority or portfolio”.
The whole saga also speaks of the credulity of the PM who was easily misguided by Swati into ordering the transfer of an official as big as IGP, on the fake pretext of deriding the government. Incidents like this have happened earlier. Remember how police chief in district Pakpattan was forced by none other than the Punjab CM to seek apology from somebody with links in the PM House. The Supreme Court action in such cases is a constant reminder of the government’s failings over its claims of having depoliticised bureaucracy, especially the police.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2018.