Daily Times

Amid criticism levelled against several special assistants over possession of dual citizenship, Tania Aidrus and Dr Zafar Mirza on Wednesday resigned from their posts as special assistants to the prime minister on Digital Pakistan and National Health respectively. The resignations were accepted by the prime minister later in the evening.

Ex-Google executive Aidrus, in a post on Twitter, said she was resigning ‘in the greater public interest’ after she faced criticism for holding a Canadian nationality. “Criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan. In the greater public interest, I have submitted my resignation from the SAPM role,” she posted on her Twitter handle. “I will continue to serve my country and the PM’s vision to my best ability,” she added.

In her resignation letter to the prime minister, Aidrus said it had been an ‘honour and privilege’ to serve him. “I returned to Pakistan with the singular intent to contribute and develop the vision of a Digital Pakistan, a concept which you have always voiced and I share. I always was and shall be a Pakistani,” she said, adding that she believes that the recent discourse about her Canadian nationality – which she said is a consequence of her birth – “is a distraction to my ability to execute on the long term vision for a Digital Pakistan”. “It is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such issues,” she remarked. “I shall continue to serve your vision and Pakistan through initiatives both in the private and public domain, where possible,” she added.

Shortly after Aidrus announced her resignation, Mirza took to Twitter to do the same. He said that he had come to Pakistan on the personal invitation of the premier after leaving the World Health Organisation (WHO). “I worked hard and honestly. It was a privilege to serve Pakistan. I am satisfied that I leave at a time when Covid-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort.” He added that he had made the decision over the “negative discussion about the role of SAPMs and criticism of the government”. “Pakistani people deserve better healthcare. I have worked sincerely to contribute to this cause. Pakistan will Inshallah emerge out of Covid-19 with a stronger healthcare system.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched the Digital Pakistan programme in December last year and named Aidrus, a Google executive who quit her position, to lead the initiative. Later in February, she was appointed as SAPM on Digital Pakistan.

According to details released by the government earlier this month, Aidrus has four immovable properties held outside Pakistan – two in the US and one each in the UK and Singapore. The properties, when converted to Pakistani rupees, have a value of Rs 452.69 million. The ones in Singapore and the US are under mortgage. The premier’s aide has no property in Pakistan. She has an investment in a venture capital worth Rs 12.51 million and has declared remittances from foreign account to Pakistan worth $95,790.

Aidrus also has a bank balance in various accounts both in Pakistan and abroad worth Rs34.39 million, whereas her husband has cash in the bank worth Rs 9.29 million in foreign accounts, the documents revealed.

Mirza was assigned the portfolio of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination in April 2019 and was engaged in overseeing the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to this, he was working as director of Health System Development at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dr Mirza owns assets worth Rs 50.7 million, including a house worth Rs 20 million and two plots worth Rs 30 million. His wife has jewelry of approximately Rs 2 million and the family owns furniture worth approximately Rs 2 million. His cash at bank accounts exceeds Rs 1.3 million. He has no other nationality.

A private TV channel claimed that according to certain documents, Dr Mirza had played a role in illegally importing drugs from India despite a ban. He, alongside another adviser, were named during an inquiry carried out on the prime minister’s orders. PM Imran wanted to end the power of pharmaceutical companies to independently raise prices, the documents indicated, adding that the SAPM had also failed to appoint heads of hospitals and medical institutions in Islamabad.

Dr Mirza had also withdrawn a summary curtailing the powers of pharmaceutical companies, however, it was submitted again on the premier’s orders. The PM had wanted to remove Dr Mirza after the drug scandal but did not do so due to the coronavirus pandemic.