LAHORE:
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has once again removed Fayyazul Hasan Chohan as the provincial information minister and appointed Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, former special assistant to the prime minister, as the Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information.
A notification issued here on Monday showed that Awan had been appointed as special assistant in place of Javaid Akhtar. “The Chief Minister has also been pleased to assign the portfolio of Special Assistant of Chief Minister on Information to Ms Firdous Ashiq Awan,” read the notification.
Chohan held the portfolio of Colonies Minister along with the additional charge of the Punjab Information Department. According to another notification, Chohan has now been left with the portfolio of the Colonies Minister only.
WATCH: After being booted out of Punjab’s information minister once again, Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan seems bewildered when asked by the media about the development. pic.twitter.com/dXZsjMUwFO
— The Express Tribune (@etribune) November 2, 2020
As part of the reshuffle, two other cabinet members, Cooperative Minister Mehar Muhammad Aslam and Prisons Minister Zawar Hussain Warriach, have also been stripped of their portfolios.
Celebrating her new portfolio, Awan tweeted: “I am greatly humbled and honored with the confidence that my great leader Imran Khan has shown in myself and my ability. I am also deeply thankful to the honourable CM Punjab for making me a part of his team. I will do my level best to honour this call to duty.”
“It is with great humility that I accept this tremendous responsibility. God willing, I will try and do my level best to change the information landscape of the Government of Punjab for the better to the best of my ability,” she added.
I am greatly humbled and honored with the confidence that my great leader Imran Khan has shown in myself and my ability. I am also deeply thankful to the honourable CM Punjab for making me a part of his team. I will do my level best to honour this call to duty. pic.twitter.com/97OhvWKx1d
— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) November 2, 2020
It happened a second time that Chohan has been removed as information minister. Earlier, he was stripped of the portfolio for attracting huge criticism on social media for his controversial remarks against the Hindu minority. However, he was later reinstated as the information minister, replacing Mian Aslam Iqbal, who had requested for leaving the charge of information portfolio.
Similarly, it is also the second term of Awan of handling information portfolio in the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. Earlier, she served as special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting. Now she has made a comeback in Punjab.
The decision of appointing Awan was made by Prime Minister Imran Khan in consultation with senior party leaders, following which she called on Chief Minister Buzdar and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar last week. However, Chohan remained ignorant till Awan made the announcement of her appointment on social media.
Bureaucratic reshuffle
Meanwhile, the chief minister also replaced six key officials in his administration. The changes included posting of Additional Chief Secretary Services Economy Zafar Nasrullah Khan as the Housing Secretary, replacing Nadeem Mehboob, who has been posted as the Management and Professional Development Secretary
Secretary Agriculture Wasif Khurshid has been transferred and posted as Secretary Industry, replacing Captain (retd) Zafar Iqbal, who would now take the office of the Bahawalpur Commissioner.
The outgoing Bahawalpur Commissioner, Muhammad Asif Iqbal, has been made ESD. Similarly, I&C Secretary Waqas Ali Mahmood has been given the additional charge of the Agriculture Secretary.
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