Sacked: Three advisers to ex-PM sent packing

GILGIT:

With the disqualification of Yousaf Raza Gilani from the office of Prime Minister (PM), the three advisers to PM appointed from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) have also been removed, said officials.

“The three are no more advisers to the new PM, it has officially been decided,” an official told The Express Tribune, adding that the news will be communicated to them shortly.

Two days back, a notification issued by the PM Secretariat did not contain names of the three advisers from G-B, suggesting they might be retained with the new PM. Earlier this year, Gilani appointed Attullah Shahab, Professor Muhammad Saleem, and Wazir Ibadat as advisers to the PM in G-B. The three were also the members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council.

Shahab, who is also a senior leader of JUI-F, told The Express Tribune recently that they had not been formally informed about their status after Gilani’s disqualification. “We have not been directly approached by anyone so far,” he said.

However, he argued that they could continue as advisers given that the governor G-B is also the vice chairman of the G-B Council.

Published in The Express Tribune, 25^th, 2012.