With reports claiming Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is about to be fired, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also warned his new “Wasim Akram” against poor performance.
CM’s spokesperson Dr Shahbaz Gill, however, has denied all media reports regarding Buzdar’s removal.
To be honest, we also don’t think anyone can ever sack an “under-training” and such an innocent chief minister:
More than a year has passed since the initial launch date of the much-awaited Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that was to be completed within “six months”; however, the controversy surrounding the project continues to deepen.
Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Pervez Khattak had in October 2017 broke ground on the multi-billion-rupee project aimed at providing comfortable transport facilities to the residents of Peshawar.
Launched with the Asian Development Bank’s assistance, Khattak had announced the 26 km long project would be completed by April 2018, but it was later delayed to May.
However, the Peshawar BRT has lied in limbo ever since its inauguration, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, while auditing the affairs of Rs29.65 billion Lahore and the Rs28.5 billion Multan metro buses, has failed to finalise the total cost of its own project.
Meanwhile, an investigation into the BRT has revealed that “havoc has been played with public money through faulty planning and designing, negligence in execution of work and poor management of the project”.
According to reports, the government has lastly approved an increase in the project’s cost by 38 per cent, revising from Rs49 billion to Rs66 billion.
The new cost, which still might not be the final one, is 53.46 per cent higher than the total cost of Punjab’s most expensive mass transit project – the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus – that was completed at a cost of Rs44.31 billion.
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).
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.
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.
Finance Minister Asad Umar on Thursday announced that he has obtained Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s consent “to not take any cabinet position” after being offered the Energy Ministry instead.
“As part of a cabinet reshuffle, prime minister desired that I take the energy minister portfolio instead of finance. However, I have obtained his consent to not take any cabinet position,” he tweeted.
With Umar’s statement confirming earlier media reports of a possible reshuffle in PM Imran’s cabinet, hundreds of netizens took to Twitter to react to “another U-turn of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government”.
Meanwhile, some highlighted the funnier side of the development.
Some also started guessing how “Patwaris” must be reacting.
As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Punjab government boasts reforming the police culture, a rather questionable video, showing cops dragging a protester on the road, has surfaced.
In the undated video making rounds over social media, at least three personnel of Punjab Police can be seen dragging a man to make way for a VIP motorcade.
WATCH VIDEO:
The protester can be heard crying for help as he is dragged to the side of the road, while the cops return to their vehicles and drive away.
The video has widely been shared with the claim that the police brutality victim was “protesting his son’s murder” in front of the convoy of an unknown official when the cops charged.
The official version to the incident will be added to the story as soon as The Current receives it.
In an attempt to bag maximum votes in the ongoing Indian general elections, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched “Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman” for electioneering.
Hailed a hero in India, Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured when his fighter jet was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in February. He, however, was later released as a peace gesture by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
With the Hindu nationalist BJP campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in national defence’s name, a fake picture of Abhinandan urging Indians to vote for the ruling party is being shared on social media.
The picture has been breaking the internet with a claim that the IAF pilot is supporting the BJP and has voted for Modi.
In the photo, the pilot’s doppelganger — having his trademark handlebar moustache and a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses — can be seen wearing a muffler with the BJP’s electoral symbol.
The Hindi caption of the viral post urges people to vote for the BJP.
Nonetheless, upon examining the picture closely, its falsehood is narrated. Indians too are pointing out the deception of the BJP, while IAF has also reportedly declared the poster as fake.
Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had a detailed conversation with the late former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani over the situation following the suicide attack on Hazara community.
“PM [Imran Khan] had a detailed discussion with Rafsanjani Sahib,” he said while addressing a press conference after meeting the victim families of April 12’s Quetta bombing.
With the statement from the interior minister coming two years after Rafsanjani passed away, Twitterati sprung to action to call out Afridi’s blunder.
Some, however, defended the statement.
PM Imran is set to pay an official two-day visit to Iran on April 21 on the invitation of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani.
According to the Foreign Office, the premier will meet Iranian Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei, besides holding detailed consultations with President Rouhani.
Claim: ARY News ran the headline that Asad Umar was removed from his position as Finance Minister
Fact: Severl PTI polticians clarified on Twitter that Asad Umar is still the Finance Minister
Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has made major shuffles within its cabinet, removing at least five cabinet members, including Finance Minister Asad Umar, media reports claimed Monday.
Among other ministers were interior and petroleum ministers, reports said.
While it was claimed that Umar will be handed over the portfolio of the petroleum minister instead, amid all the confusion, The Current went the extra mile for verification of the claims.
“No such decision to change ministries or the ministers’ portfolios has been taken,”
PTI Public Relations head said.
Not later, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also stepped up to refute the claims.
“No truth to reports claiming change in the portfolios of ministers,” he tweeted, adding that “media should act responsibly”. The info minister further said that spreading such rumours wasn’t in better interests of the country.
Verdict: FALSE
Pakistan’s paramilitary troops have successfully rescued dozens of Hindu pilgrims trapped near Gandawa in Balochistan after a flood hit the area on late Saturday night.
According to the details, over 150 Hindu pilgrims were rescued through helicopters and shifted to safe places.
The personnel of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC), Levies Force and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) took part in the operation launched on the directions of Balochistan chief minister.
The successful operation was widely lauded by Twitterati. Here’s what they had to say:
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor has trolled a leader of India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for stealing the composition of a song released earlier this year by the media wing of Pakistan’s military.
As per the details, Raj Singh of Narendra Modi’s party copied the song ‘Zindabad Pakistan’ and recorded it by changing it to ‘Zindabad Hindustan’. He also dedicated the song to Indian armed forces.
“Glad that you copied. But copy to speak the truth as well. #PakistanZindabad,” the ISPR chief tweeted while sharing the clip that later went viral over the internet.
Here’s the original version: