Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan complained of having experienced problems with interference in the workings of her ministry, as a result of which she submitted her resignation in a recent federal cabinet meeting. The teary and emotional Dr Firdous said that she was annoyed by the frequent interference and scepticism of the top office bearers of PPP and ministers from other coalition parties on her performance. It is pertinent to mention here that during the almost four year tenure of the PPP, Firdous is the third information minister — Sherry Rehman and Qamar Zaman Kaira being her predecessors. After a one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, who addressed her reservations and assured her that she would be allowed to work with her own team, Dr Firdous withdrew her resignation. It is to be recalled that when the president fell ill and took off to Dubai for medical treatment, the political scenario was rapt with speculations and disarray due to contradictory statements coming from all directions within the government and ruling PPP. Our uncontrollably free media added fuel to the fire through its inexorably sensationalist coverage. Another such incident of many mouths uttering differing and sometimes contradictory stances of the government was the Memogate scandal. Given this experience, it would be better for the government to have one authoritative spokesperson, so that confusions and incongruity within the party can be averted in future. The task of being an information minister in an era of free media is quite a demanding one and so he/she must be empowered so as to execute his/her responsibilities as adroitly as possible. Nevertheless, while Ms Awan may have been completely justified in her grievances, she should have adopted a more professional approach in her manner of resigning from a very important post rather than creating a public spectacle before the cameras in a meeting of the cabinet. As long as she enjoys the confidence of the prime minister, she must be allowed to continue and be empowered to carry out her duties without interference from fellow ministers. If she fails, then that is a matter to be decided by the prime minister whether to replace her. Until then, she needs the support of all ministers rather than their judgements on her underperformance. *