Daily Times

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was shown the door on Monday as special assistant to prime minister on information and broadcasting reportedly over corruption allegations. Former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa was appointed prime minister’s new aide on information. Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz was, meanwhile, appointed federal minister for information.

“Truly an honorable and dignified man @shiblifaraz has been appointed new Information minister of Pak, and a brilliant @AsimSBajwa appointed SAPM on info both ll make a great team…. all the best,” Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry posted on his Twitter handle.

“The prime minister … has been pleased to appoint Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa as special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, in [an] honorary capacity, with immediate effect,” a notification issued by the Cabinet Division said.

A second notification read, “The prime minister has been pleased to remove Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan from the office of special assistant to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, with immediate effect.”

“I’m thankful to the prime minister for trusting me,” Firdous Ashiq Awan said following the decision, adding that she tried to fulfill her responsibilities to the best of her abilities. “The prime minister has the right to decide which player of the team should play on what batting order or which field position,” she went on to say. “I respect the prime minister’s decision,” she added.

The former special assistant also strongly refuted the ‘baseless allegations in propaganda in various reports on the media’ following the decision. “As a political activist, my mission is the country’s growth and its people’s welfare, which will continue under the prime minister’s leadership,” she said. “I wish a hearty congratulations to Shibli Faraz and Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa,” she noted.

Firdous Ashiq Awan, who was a PPP stalwart before she joined the PTI in May 2017, was named the SAPM on information and broadcasting as part of a major cabinet reshuffle in April 2019, eight months after Prime Minister Imran Khan took office. Awan, along with her husband, was a staunch supporter of the PPP until party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari consolidated his control over the party.

She began her political career in 1990 with a focus on improving the healthcare system, and founded the Society for Health and Development and Exchange. In 2002, she was elected to NA-286 on a reserved seat for women. In 2008, she successfully contested the NA-111 poll and was appointed the federal minister for population welfare. She later served as the information minister in the PPP government.

In 2013, she again contested the NA-111 poll but this time was unsuccessful. In 2015, she resigned as the PPP Punjab vice president before joining the PTI two years later. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Faraz – who was appointed as the leader of the house in Senate in August 2018 – was elected to the Upper House in March 2015 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is the son of acclaimed (late) poet Ahmed Faraz. Faraz, a former banker, is chairman of the Senate’s standing committee on commerce and special committee on circular debt. He is also a member of the committee on planning and development and reforms, water resources, statistics, and climate change and a member of the parliamentary committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He did a Master’s in International Relations from the University de Los Andes (Colombia) in 1994. Lt Gen (r) Bajwa had served as Commander Southern Command before his retirement. He remained the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) from 2012 to 2016. In November last year, Bajwa was appointed by the government as the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, which comes under the planning and development ministry.