Aleem's arrest left opposition speechless: Fawad

Information minister says senior minister’s resignation to create new tradition

ISLAMABAD: [fbvideo link="https://www.facebook.com/etribunevideo/videos/238687123719969/"][/fbvideo]

Hours after Punjab Senior Minister Aleem Khan stepped down following his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Khan’s resignation indicates ‘a change in culture’ under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

Addressing the media at an event in Islamabad, Chaudhry said the senior minister sent his resignation to Punjab chief minister as soon as he came to know about his arrest orders.

“The way Aleem Khan tendered his resignation depicts a clear difference in culture … it tells a lot about prevailing culture in the PTI and other political parties,” he said, adding that opposition parties would now find it difficult to come up with further criticism [against NAB and the government].

“Aleem Khan knows that now he has to face NAB cases without using his authority,” he added.

The information minister said the ruling party fully backs the ongoing accountability process, and stands by the state institutions. “Stability of institutions ensures Pakistan’s stability,” he added.

Opposition parties, especially the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have often questioned the ongoing accountability drive, terming it discriminatory, and aimed at pushing them to the wall.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired an important meeting of the PTI leadership. In a video statement issued after the meeting, the information minister said the meeting discussed the existing political situation.

He said Imran Khan fought for 22 years against corruption. “This is not personal enmity. Nobody will get any NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance]. There will be no NRO or deal [with the corrupt]. We will take the corruption cases to their logical end,” he said.

Chaudhry said senior coalition members expressed serious concern over the PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif’s role in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the parliament’s accountability arm. Shehbaz is in NAB’s custody in connection with its probe into a housing scam.

The minister said: “Shehbaz Sharif pressured NAB members by summoning them in a PAC meeting. The PML-N is using the PAC as a ploy against the corruption cases [filed against them]. [PML-N’s] Saad Rafique is being asked to become a part of the PAC for the utilisation of this ploy.”

“By resigning, Aleem Khan has initiated a great trend. Shehbaz Sharif should also think likewise. We demand that Shehbaz resigns as the PAC chairman,” he said.

Plight of media industry

The information minister said the government cannot step in and be the saviour of the media industry in the country as according to him in that case “the media will not remain independent”.

He said governments had inflated media budgets to a large degree and such organisations must rely primarily on modern technology, instead of the government subsidies. Fawad also encouraged media bodies to research modern technologies and their effects on the media’s financial status.

“The government is working to bring print and digital mediums under a single regulatory body and also create an organisation for workers being laid off in the industry,” he said.

The minister further urged media houses to pay heed to market forces.

Towards the end of 2018, the government slashed its advertising budget and re-negotiated rates with different media houses. Hundreds of journalists were laid off in the aftermath. Several media houses have also slashed salaries of current employees and journalists’ livelihoods remain in a precarious state.