Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers on Wednesday expressed their grievances to Prime Minister Imran Khan over inclusion of non-elected individuals in the federal cabinet, a private TV channel reported.
The prime minister chaired a parliamentary party meeting ahead of the National Assembly session, in which PTI lawmakers put forward their grievances and reservations over the decision to include non-elected individuals in the federal cabinet. “Opposition says that non-elected individuals have been included in the cabinet and there is no visible role of public representatives in the government’s policies,” the members pointed out, adding that the decision has provided the opposition an opportunity to criticise the government. “[We] have to fix the economy. I take responsibility for my decisions. Your reservations are [justified] but some tough decisions have to be taken,” the prime minister was quoted as saying in response. “Removing Asad Umar was also a difficult decision. Asad Umar is still my right hand,” he reportedly told the meeting.
Praising the local government initiative, the prime minister said during the meeting that the new system will change the country’s destiny. “Powers will be delegated to the bottom-most levels,” he said, and asked the members to fully support the initiative.
Prime Minister Imran Khan further instructed the lawmakers to ensure that there is no shortcoming or negligence in the Ramazan relief package announced by the government. According to the TV channel, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry were not in attendance at the meeting.