Gill, Awn exit in major Punjab shake-up

More changes expected in provincial cabinet in coming days

LAHORE: In a development that took many by surprise, Shahbaz Gill, the Punjab chief minister’s active and vocal spokesperson who in a short span of time had established himself as the face of the provincial government, stepped down from his post on Friday while provincial adviser Awn Chaudhry, a close aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan, was also sacked.

Sources said Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had decided to remove Gill from his post for transgressing his boundaries and promoting himself instead of his boss. Gill, who had a knack for being in the media limelight, was allowed the opportunity to submit his resignation to avoid embarrassment.

More changes in the provincial cabinet are expected in the next few days. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has sought progress reports from provincial ministers. He left for Saudi Arabia on Friday to perform Umrah.

“I hereby resign from the post of official spokesperson to CM Punjab,” Gill stated in a handwritten resignation letter addressed to the Punjab chief minister.

Gill had dropped a hint in a tweet on Friday afternoon before submitting his resignation that he would share important news soon.

“This morning took an important decision. Inshallah will share with you soon,” he wrote.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab CM’s Office, Asif Mehmood has replaced Awn as the new adviser with immediate effect.

“Mehmood shall act as the adviser to the Punjab CM on affairs related to Punjab horticulture authorities and tourism,” it read.

According to the sources, Chaudhry, who has earlier remained PM Imran’s principal secretary, is likely to be given another important position in the province after Buzdar returns from Saudi Arabia.

The sources said the Punjab chief minister was given the nod by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a recent meeting to go ahead with the changes.

They said Buzdar believed that provincial ministers had been given enough time and opportunities to show their performance and the ones who had failed to deliver would have to go.

In Gill’s case, the chief minister was displeased over his spokesperson’s repeated attempts to bypass him. In fact, the sources said, Gill did not even let ministers meet Buzdar.

An officer familiar with the situation said Buzdar had made up his mind to oust Gill quite some time ago.

Soon after his appointment as the spokesperson, Gill had a notification issued by Punjab CM’s Principal Secretary Dr Raheel Saddique allowing him to intervene in the affairs of any department, turning himself into a shadow chief minister.

This move did not go down well with Buzdar, who sacked his principal secretary for issuing the notification.

Recently, Gill, while briefing the media about a cabinet meeting while filling in for the unavailable provincial minister Aslam Iqbal, mixed the official business of Punjab government with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) internal divide over Buzdar. He said those who did not like the appearance or accent of the Punjab chief minister should leave the PTI.

Besides, there are also reports that Gill was ordering raids without the chief minister’s knowledge.

The sources said chief minister felt that he was being blamed not only for the federal government’s decisions but also for the failure of his ministers.

After a long time, ministers in Punjab have been allowed to work without the intervention of the CM’s Office.

They can select their own secretaries and make decisions on their own, but despite repeated warnings, many ministers have failed to perform well. Now the Punjab chief minister wants to induct new faces in his cabinet.