Daily Times

The newly elected government has been slowly settling in as it faces an increasingly large number of people holding it to an unprecedented level of accountability. PTI has had several incidents ranging from provincial minister profaning in an off-the-record television interview, to initiating a series of aviation-based jokes centered around the Prime Minister’s usage of a helicopter.

Over the past few days, the government has launched an aggresive campaign to plant trees across the country. With over a million trees planted within the first 24 hours, the government aims to plant 10 billion trees in it’s entire tenure. In the wake of the 2013 general elections, the PTI-led government in KP oversaw a similar tree-plantation drive. With climate change becoming an increasingly important issue that the country grapples with, the plantation of trees will prove to be one of the more effective weapons in the national arsenal.

Federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry also defended Atif Mian’s place in the Economic Advisary Council by saying that it is every Muslim’s duty to safeguard the rights of minorities. Atif Mian, who is rumored to belong to the Ahmadi minority, was criticized for holding the position on the council. Chaudhry gave an impassioned speech about the rights of minorities and how merit and technical relevance overrides religious affiliations. The video of his statement also became viral on social media.

In another surprise move, PM Khan’s aide on parliamentary affairs Babar Awan resigned from his position in light of a NAB investigation into the Nandipur reference which was initiated by the Supreme Court last month. This decision was lauded by many political pundits, and taken as a sign of accountability. The last government often saw officials hold on to positions while being actively investigated by the FIA and NAB respectively.

These developments are all overshadowed by the election of PTI’s Arif Alvi as the 13th President of Pakistan.