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Tag: Fawad Chaudhry

  • VIDEO: Fawad Ch removes successor Firdous Ashiq Awan from Imran cabinet’s WhatsApp group

    VIDEO: Fawad Ch removes successor Firdous Ashiq Awan from Imran cabinet’s WhatsApp group

    Incumbent Federal Minister for Science & Technology and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry has removed his successor Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan from the WhatsApp group of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s cabinet after Awan, who had been handed the reins of the Information Ministry last year, was removed as the special assistant to the PM on information and broadcasting.

    Ever since Fawad was replaced by non-elected Awan in 2019, reports had hinted at a possible rift among the ranks of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The now science & tech minister had also discussed with a media outlet the cold war that was going on within the ruling party, saying that “non-elected people had the power to change portfolios of ministers” and “important decisions were made without many team members knowing about them”.

    Among several other reported spats between Fawad and Awan, with the ex-SAPM even complaining of some lawmakers’ behaviour to PM Imran, Fawad’s statements of a battle going on between elected and non-elected members was followed by Awan “admiring Fawad’s ‘struggle to always stay in headlines“.

    Amid rumours that the two weren’t best of friends ever since Fawad’s removal and Awan’s subsequent appointment, the federal minister had earlier this year even called out PM Imran’s former aide on “illiterate” remarks regarding Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar.

    With Awan being replaced by former military bigwig Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa on Monday and PTI Senator Shibli Faraz being handed the reins of the Information Ministry, senior journalist and analyst Arshad Sharif asked if Fawad, being an admin of the WhatsApp group of PM Imran’s cabinet, had added Faraz and removed his successor, cracking the minister up.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “That is how it is. If they go, they have to be removed,” a smiling Fawad told the journalist, adding that he was shocked to know that Sharif knew about the group, its admins and whatever happened in it.

  • Fawad says ignorance of conservative religious class, not coronavirus, god’s wrath

    Fawad says ignorance of conservative religious class, not coronavirus, god’s wrath

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that God’s wrath “was the ignorance of the conservative religious class that had led to the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan”.

    “The global outbreak of coronavirus has spread in Pakistan due to ignorance of the religious community and now they say coronavirus is a punishment from God and we need to repent,” he tweeted.

    He added that scholars who have the knowledge and the intellect were blessings of Allah, but to give an ignorant status of a scholar was destruction.

    “66 studies are going on in which 43 are on new vaccines, 16 on new antibiotics and seven are focusing on antibodies,” the minister said later.

    On Wednesday, several of Pakistan’s senior religious leaders announced that they would keep mosques open for group prayers, on a day when the country’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 crossed the 1,000 mark.   

    The declaration seemed to counter an announcement from President Arif Alvi that upon his request, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University’s religious clerics’ council issued a fatwa — an Islamic religious edict — that public gatherings, including group prayers in mosques, can be banned in the interest of public health. 

    The Cairo-based university is one of the oldest seats of Islamic learning, founded almost a century before Oxford University, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. 

    The Pakistani clerics said young children, old people, those who were sick or taking care of the sick could stay home. They also guided their followers to install sanitizers at the entrances of mosques, and advised more cleanliness.

  • Ministry of Science solves hand sanitisers shortage

    Ministry of Science solves hand sanitisers shortage

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted on Wednesday that hand sanitizers made by PCSIR (Ministry of S&T) with WHO-approved standards are now available at a mass level. He said that all provincial governments are advised to contact PCSIR in provincial headquarters for mass supplies and they will also be made available in utility stores.

    Speaking exclusively to The Current, Chaudhry said, “We have made these hand sanitisers as per WHO [World Health Organisation ] standards. Their cost is Rs 350 per 250ml bottle. They are available at all regional headquarters and we have informed all provincial governments that if they need these for their hospitals, they can pick them up from PCSIR.”

    Read more – Can’t find hand sanitizers? Here is an effective homemade recipe

    Chaudhry further shared another major breakthrough is in the offing.

    ”NUST has made a testing kit for coronavirus so we are trying to get its commercial production started in the next 10-15 days. There were some legal matters, which we have cleared now. Expression of Interest will be with us in a day or two. Cost of this kit will be then reduced to Rs 800-1,000. Right now, private testing costs about Rs 8,000 so it will be cut down manifold. This will be a huge breakthrough,” Chaudhry told The Current.

    This announcement comes at a time when hand sanitisers are not readily available in the markets or are being sold at high prices.

  • LEAKED VIDEO: ‘You did a great job by slapping Mubasher Lucman,’ KP CM tells Fawad Chaudhry

    LEAKED VIDEO: ‘You did a great job by slapping Mubasher Lucman,’ KP CM tells Fawad Chaudhry

    A “leaked” video over the internet on Thursday showed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan appreciating Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry for slapping journalist Mubasher Lucman in January this year.

    “You did a great job by slapping Mubasher Lucman,” the KP CM can be heard as saying in the video.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Fawad had on January 5 slapped anchorperson Lucman at the valima ceremony of Mohsin Leghari’s son.

    Several leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Jehangir Tareen, were present at the time of scuffle between the two. Reacting to the incident, Fawad in a Twitter message had criticised Lucman, saying that the anchorperson could not be considered a journalist.

    The scuffle had come in response to Lucman’s allegations against Fawad regarding TikTok star Hareem Shah.

    Geo News bureau chief for Lahore, Raees Ansari, had revealed that Tareen and Fawad were talking about the allegations that Lucman had levelled on the minister during a TV show, salaciously linking the federal minister to Shah, who had then made headlines after accusing government officials, including lawmakers, of sending her indecent pictures.

    It was at that moment that Lucman arrived at the event, triggering a war of words between him and Fawad over the issue. The federal minister reportedly protested against the claims, later slapping and shoving the anchor. The altercation stopped when people intervened and broke up the fight.

    Soon after, both Fawad and Lucman had left the event.

  • Fawad Chaudhry explains why PM Imran didn’t attend Naeemul Haque’s janaza in Karachi

    Fawad Chaudhry explains why PM Imran didn’t attend Naeemul Haque’s janaza in Karachi

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Naeemul Haque passed away on Saturday, losing his long battle with cancer at the age of 70. The senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was admitted at a private hospital in the city where he breathed his last. Haque had been battling cancer for the last two years.

    Haque was laid to rest in Karachi’s Gizri Graveyard on Sunday. While a number of PTI members were present at the funeral, PM Imran’s absence caused uproar considering how close the two were and the fact that Haque was one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

    Following the criticism on social media, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry explained and clarified why PM Imran and other senior members of the party were missing.

    Earlier, Special Assistant to the PM for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had shared that a special prayer meet will be held for the deceased at the PM House in Islamabad.

    The funeral prayer, led by former senator Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi, was held at Ayesha Masjid in DHA. Senior leaders of the PTI including Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Asad Umar and many others attended the funeral prayer.

    Leaders associated with MQM-Pakistan, PPP, PML-N among other officials were also present at the last rituals.

    PM Khan had expressed his grief over the death of his friend on social media.

  • Dr Firdous reveals her favourite makeup brand

    Dr Firdous reveals her favourite makeup brand

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has a tough schedule. Apart from attending various meetings throughout the day with the Prime Minister, Dr Firdous also has to address press conferences to brief the media and public about daily happenings. For all this, Dr Firdous maintains an impeccable appearance and is always on top of her game.

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, when asked about her favourite makeup brand, Dr Firdous revealed that it is Clinique.

    “Because my skin remains in painting all day, Clinique is good at all this denting-painting,” the SAPM had said.

    Apart from that, Dr Firdous also revealed the one thing she admired about her predecessor, former federal minister for information Fawad Chaudhry. She said that she liked his “struggle to always stay in headlines”.

    According to the details, with cracks continuing to emerge within the ranks of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and rumour having it that both Awan and Chaudhry are not the best of friends ever since the latter was sacked and replaced by the former, the SAPM when asked what she liked the most about Chaudhry, she said, “His [Fawad Chaudhry’s] struggle to always stay in headlines.”

    To another question, Awan, who is not an elected member of the parliament, said that election defeat under Imran was not a defeat. “It’s a victory for my ideology,” she said.

    “Social media is an unguided missile with warheads but no target,” the SAPM said when asked what was that she disliked the most about social media.

    Awan also said that she was not a misogynist — her verbal attacks “were for people and not genders” and those who criticised her for not being an elected representative, “lacked sense”.

    WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:

  • PTI: Firdous admires Fawad Chaudhry’s ‘struggle to always stay in headlines’

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has admired her predecessor, former federal minister for information Fawad Chaudhry, for his “struggle to always stay in headlines”.

    According to the details, with cracks continuing to emerge within the ranks of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and rumour having it that both Awan and Chaudhry are not the best of friends ever since the latter was sacked and replaced by the former, the SAPM, in an exclusive interview with The Current, was asked what she liked the most about her predecessor.

    “His [Fawad Chaudhry’s] struggle to always stay in headlines,” she said.

    Chaudhry has time and again been accused of “pulling political gimmicks” as the federal minister for science and technology and an aide of PM Imran Khan, by the general public, leaders of his own party as well as those belonging to the opposition.

    To another question, Awan, who is not an elected member of the parliament, said that election defeat under Imran was not a defeat. “It’s a victory for my ideology,” she said.

    “Social media is an unguided missile with warheads but no target,” the SAPM said when asked what was that she disliked the most about social media.

    Awan also said that she was not a misogynist — her verbal attacks “were for people and not genders” –, shared how she thought that parliamentarians should not get a pay raise, and those who criticised her for not being an elected representative, “lacked sense”.

    WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:

  • Fawad Ch says PML-N’s Khawaja Asif ‘lobbying to become prime minister’

    Fawad Ch says PML-N’s Khawaja Asif ‘lobbying to become prime minister’

    Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif “is lobbying to become the prime minister (PM)”.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, the minister claimed that Asif wanted both former PM Nawaz Sharif and his brother, PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif, to seek British citizenship and leave Pakistan for good. “He wants the entire [Sharif] family to move there [United Kingdom], and that he be granted the reins of PML-N.”

    When asked by anchor and host Arshad Sharif as to what would that mean for other senior leaders such as ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Fawad said Asif believes he played an important role in securing Nawaz the permission to seek medical treatment abroad. “He thinks he is on really good terms [with the Sharif family] nowadays, and so is the best candidate,” the federal minister added.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    To this, the journalist asked if Asif was in contact with federal cabinet members and that was how he managed to pave way for convicted former premier’s foreign travel. Fawad, however, did not answer the question.

  • Fawad Chaudhry recommended Mehwish Hayat for Tamgha-e-Imtiaz

    Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry revealed that he was the one who recommended Mehwish Hayat for the prestigious Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.

    In a recent interview, when asked who his favourite female actor is, Fawad replied that he is a big fan of Hayat, adding that he had suggested Hayat’s name for the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s highest civilian honour.

    “Mehwish Hayat is brilliant. As [information] minister, I recommended her name for Sitara-e-Imtiaz even though I had never met her, until recently”, the minister said.

    He shared that he recommended her because her films do exceptional business.

    Read more – 5 times Mehwish Hayat was woke

    The minister also remarked that people do a lot of sifarish to receive awards, asserting that no one asked him to nominate Mehwish.

    When probed further, Fawad said that he took awards very seriously and had always wanted youngsters to be nominated for awards.

    “I take awards very seriously and I only want them to be given to those who are toppers in their respective fields”, he said. “We try to ensure that merit is followed strictly.”

    Read more – Mehwish Hayat to run for PM in 2028?

    Mehwish had received immense flak on social media when she was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in March last year. Most people were of the view that she did not deserve it though their views changed after her speech at Oslo, Norway and her strong stance against Bollywood films.

    President Dr Arif Alvi had conferred the award on Hayat during a ceremony in Islamabad.

  • Fawad Chaudhry says petition against Humayun Saeed is ‘shugal’

    Fawad Chaudhry says petition against Humayun Saeed is ‘shugal’

    Meray Paas Tum Ho has ended but the drama sure hasn’t.

    Recently, a petition was filed in the SHC against the drama in which the petitioner Sana Saleem alleged that the script, penned by the controversial Khalil ur Rehman Qamar, contained derogatory language when talking about women. Saleem wanted the writer, actor and producer to apologise for this.

    In addition, the petitioner also objected to the fact that “a divorced couple were living together” and “a six-year-old was playing matchmaker between his father and a school teacher”.

    SHC’s Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed and Justice Muhammad Ali Azhar, who heard the petition on Wednesday, directed all respondents including the federal government, PEMRA and the drama’s makers to submit their replies by February 13. They also directed Humayun Saeed to ensure that he present at the next hearing to explain himself in person.

    Read more – SHC orders Humayun Saeed to explain ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’s ‘offensive’ dialogues ‘in person’

    While Humayun himself has not commented on the matter, former minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to criticise the petition saying that “nothing can justify this notice”.

    Fawad was not the only one who believed the situation to be absurd.

    https://twitter.com/rehman_azhar/status/1222808986073866241?s=20
    https://twitter.com/wordoflaw/status/1222514799583559680?s=20

    Despite its flaws, Meray Paas Tum Ho, starring Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Hira Mani, went onto becoming television’s highest-rated dramas of all time. The final episode of the drama was also aired in cinemas where it broke box-office records.

    Earlier, the minister had also congratulated the team for their success and requested Amazon and Netflix to review Pakistani content.

    Before the final episode was aired, a petition was also filed in Lahore’s civil court to stop it from being aired. The petitioner, Maham, had filed a plea to stop the release of the last episode because it has had a “negative impact and continues to degrade the status of women in our society”.

    Read more – Court dismisses petition against ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’

    However, after examining statements and documents from representatives of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and ARY Digital, Civil Judge Naila Ayub dismissed the petition and said that show had received clearance from the censor board of Punjab to screen in cinemas so there was nothing inappropriate in it.