Fulfilling his promise, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry launched the country’s first moonsighting website and Hijri Calendar on Sunday.
He also announced that Eid will be celebrated on June 5 as per the lunar observations.
The minister shared that the five-year Hijri Calendar has been sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and will be presented before the cabinet on Wednesday.
The CII will review the lunar calendar and decide if under Islamic laws, the only evidence acceptable for moon-sighting is with the naked eye or if it can also be sighted with equipment.
Fawad added he “personally believes that there is no need to have Rueti Hilal Committee [moon-sighting committee] in the country.”
He said that the moonsighting website and calendar have been created with the efforts of several departments and provide all relevant information.
Game of Thrones may be over but the hype of the series is far from dying down anytime soon. If you’ve been following the news closely, you’ll understand that Pakistan’s political arena is no less than any drama. Here are GOT’s famous sayings that perfectly fit our politicians.
Prime Minister Imran Khan
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz
Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry
Asad Umar
Nawaz Sharif
Minister for Water and Power Resources Faisal Vawda
Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari
Altaf Hussain
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur
Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that his ministry has “nothing to do with science”.
In a recent interview with Independent Urdu, the minister was asked what relation was there between his law degree and science.
There is no connection, he said, adding: “In fact, the Science and Technology Ministry itself has no relation with science.”
Earlier, in an interview to The Current, Fawad, who was sacked as the federal minister for information and broadcasting in last month’s cabinet reshuffle, had said he himself had chosen the Science and Technology Ministry.
“I was offered two or three ministries by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and I voluntarily chose this ministry because science and technology is the way forward,” he had said.
Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry
has revealed that he was earning way more as a television anchor and by practicing
law in the past than at present as a minister.
“A minister’s salary is Rs345,000, out of which the house rent is Rs90,000. We are paid Rs255,000 after that,” he tweeted while replying to a person who had asked him his salary amid massive budget cuts by the government.
Minister ki Tankhaw 3,45,000 hai 90 hazar house rent jata hai so 2 lakh 55 hazar miltay hein https://t.co/1JwJVbDoZz
His salary at present is way less than the one he received as a television anchor for a private media outlet, as a known fact is how stalwarts like Fawad earn in millions while hosting shows.
The same has been confessed by Fawad himself earlier. Speaking to a private media outlet in October 2018, he had said his income as a minister is way less than what he was getting as an anchor.
When asked if he has any regrets after assuming office as a
minister now that he doesn’t get any time to perform other duties, Fawad had said,
“It is true that we have hefty engagements as ministers but our salaries are
also very low.”
Soon after Finance Minister Asad Umar “resigned” from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, the premier on Thursday fired several ministers for showing unsatisfactory performance in their respective domains.
Among the victims of Thursday’s bloodbath were Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Interior Minister Shehryar Afridi, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Health Minister Amir Mehmood Kiyani.
While the sacked cabinet members were handed new ministries in what is being termed as a major reshuffle, here is what you need to know about the new portfolios of the same old ministers.
Fawad Chaudhry’s Science and Technology Ministry
As the name suggests, the ministry is concerned with science and technology. It is responsible for the country’s science policy, planning, coordination and efforts to initiate technological programmes that can also be aimed at economic development.
Shehryar Afridi’s States and Frontier Regions Ministry
The main responsibility of the ministry is to deal with the issues of tribal areas of Pakistan, the frontier regions and previously Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) that is now a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s Aviation Ministry
Concerned with matters of aviation, the ministry works in coordination with different organisations, including the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Airport Security Force (ASF), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and even Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
New Interior Minister:
The government has also announced a federal interior minister for the first time, with the portfolio — earlier held by the PM himself — going to Brig (r) Ijaz Ahmed Shah, who was appointed the federal minister for parliamentary affairs just last month.
Yes, a PM can keep ministries to himself. An example is former premier Nawaz Sharif, who kept with him the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
While Shah is known to have experience of tackling threats posed by militant organisations, his appointment has stirred a political controversy as he remained a trusted aide of former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf.
Raining Special Assistants:
Meanwhile, a trio of Special Assistants to the Prime Minister (SAPM) has also been appointed in an apparent attempt to bridge the gap that has surfaced after sacking of federal ministers.
Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has been made the SAPM on Information and Broadcasting Division, Dr Zafarullah Mirza has been assigned the portfolio of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, while Nadeem Babar will serve as the SAPM on Petroleum Division.
The special assistants won’t officially be ministers, but being the most superior in their respective domains, they will be entitled to a minister’s power.
