K-P caretaker ministers resign en masse

Interim CM asks entire set-up to quit voluntarily over allegations of political activities

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) cabinet resigned en masse on Thursday on the call of Interim Chief Minister Azam Khan following allegations of their involvement in political activities, according to a provincial minister.

The caretaker cabinet comprised 26 members, including ministers, advisers and special assistants. The cabinet was formed in January-February this year following the dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Caretaker Information Minister Feroze Jamal Kakakhel said that Chief Minister Azam Khan had a meeting with the cabinet members on Thursday and sought their resignation.

He confirmed that 19 ministers gave their resignations to the chief minister, while the others, who were not present in the meeting, assured that they would send their resignations. One member sought time for consultation, he added.

Kakakhel also said that the resignations would be forwarded to Governor Haji Ghulam Ali for approval on Friday (today), after which they would be de-notified. He added that a new cabinet would be formed in a few days.

The K-P cabinet and the government’s team was constantly under pressure amid allegations that the ministers were involved in political activities. Previously, a minister was sacked for attending a political rally.

Since its installation, the caretaker set-up saw several reshuffles in the last six months. Besides, the political activities, some of them also faced allegations of corruption and poor performance.

It was stated that the ministers were linked to political parties, or their office-bearers. Some ministers were seen as “the ATMs” [financiers] of political parties, therefore, they were given the ministries.

Khushdil Khan Malik was the first to be shown the door for not fulfilling the conditions related to his retirement. Later, Adnan Jalil was dismissed because of the conflict between his the Awami National Party (ANP) and the governor.

Read Sacking of ministers on K-P cabinet agenda

Afterwards, Shahid Khattak was dismissed from the post of transport minister, for playing politics. However, he has been awarded ticket by the ANP to contest election from a Nowshera constituency.

It is stated that several K-P caretakers ministers were related to political personalities linked to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and allied parties.

Sources said that Financial Adviser Himayatullah Khan retired from the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and had worked with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for four years.

Former Senator Haji Ghufran of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), and Rehmat Salam Khattak, Hamid Shah and Manzoor Afridi were reportedly linked to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

Special Assistant on Zakat an Ushr Salma Begum is the sister of former minister Satara Ayaz, who had recently joined the PTI Parliamentarians, while another Special Assistant Malik Mehr Ellahi is a close associate of Governor Ghulam Ali.

Hidayatullah Afridi is the brother of Ziaullah Afridi of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), while Shafiullah is the cousin of the former PPP provincial president Najamuddin Khan. Information Minister Kakakhel is also seen as close to the PPP.

Taj Afridi, is the brother of Shah Gul Afridi, who has recently joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The party also backs Muhammad Ali Shah and Bakht Nawaz.

Abdul Halim Kasuria, who belongs to Dera Ismail Khan, is considered to be close to Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F, while Fazal Elahi is considered close to Governor Ghulam Ali.

Jarar Hussain Bukhari is the son of PPP Central Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, who was transferred from Islamabad to K-P and made part of the cabinet as an adviser.

Recently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) wrote a letter to Chief Minister Azam Khan and directed him to dismiss all those members of his team who had been involved in political activities.

On Thursday, the chief minister invited his cabinet to the Chief Minister House. During the meeting, Chief Minister Khan informed them about the contents of the ECP letter, according to a source.

The source said that the chief minister made clear to the cabinet members that he did not want to remove any particular minister, adviser or special assistant, therefore, it would be better if all of them voluntarily resign en masse.

“This is the honourable way,” the source quoted the chief minister as saying. On his call, the source continued, majority of the participants of the meeting agreed with the chief minister and submitted their resignations.

However, on this occasion four to five members were not present in the meeting but when contacted they also assured the chief minister of sending resignations. Still, one member sought time for consultation, the source added.

Other sources also revealed interesting remarks passed by the participants on the occasion. One participant complained that there were allegations against the Punjab cabinet but it was not being dismissed.

Special Assistant Ashraf Dawar, whose appointment was made on July 26, complained that he had not even started enjoying his position, yet he had to resign. His comments drew big laughter from the other participants.

“We are all cursed by Adnan Jalil,” quipped another member. Overall, the sources said that the participants did not show any signs of anger or despair at their dismissal. They all remained courteous to the chief minister till the end.

“Everyone took tea together, after which the chief minister came to the outer door of the Chief Minister House to see them off. All the members shook each other’s hands and departed,” the source said.

After the removal of the cabinet and the government team, there were rumours that the governor and the caretaker chief minister might also be replaced. However, sources believed that Chief Minister Azam Khan would stay in office.

They argued that the caretaker chief minister would continue in his post because his resignation could trigger a fresh constitutional crisis pertaining to appointment of a new caretaker chief minister.

The sources further said that the governor could be changed but if that was the case, it would happen after the oath-taking of the caretaker prime minister, which is expected soon.

With the dismissal of the cabinet, a new cabinet would be formed. However, the sources indicated at the possibility of the return of a few people, who were part of the outgoing caretaker set-up.