‘What a PM good for if he can’t transfer an IGP’

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday questioned the purpose of holding elections in the country if the elected prime minister cannot even suspend an IGP and made it clear that those not following the government policy will face action.

In chat with journalists outside the Parliament House, the minister noted that Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi had earlier written to Prime Minister Imran Khan that the IGP had failed to take action against the widespread use of drugs in the federal capital’s schools and colleges. He said the prime minister was also told that bribery was widespread in Islamabad’s police stations and check points.

Fawad Chaudhry said IGs are answerable to the prime minister and chief minister who are answerable to the public through assemblies. He maintained that if the government was to be run by bureaucrats, then there might be no need of elections and a few bureaucrats might be appointed to run the government.

He regretted that a narrative was being built that if (officers) did not receive phone calls, then they would become heroes, cautioning this would lead to chaos and anarchy in the country. The minister also maintained that the government policies were not being followed with regards to some matters. The minister said the government would present its arguments in the Supreme Court and would follow the apex court judgement.

When his attention was drawn various media reports on the issue of IGP and slum dwellers, the minister said he could not comment on the veracity of reports that minister Azam Swati had influenced the IGP’s transfer.

On the opposition’s the all parties conference (APC), the minister said he was unable to understand the point of APC and it is being held to seek the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). Referring to Imran Khan’s assertion in his address to the nation after his Saudi Arabia visit, Fawad said no matter what happens, there would be no NRO.

Fawad said the political career of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has come to an end and he would never come back to the Parliament. “Now Nawaz Sharif will attend meetings outside the Parliament as his political career has ended,” he said.

The minister said the opposition parties lack ideology and leadership. “The political parties should have leadership and ideology but they lack both,” he said, observing that the opposition parties walked out, but they had planned at meeting outside the House.

Fawad alleged that the opposition leaders sitting inside and outside the Parliament have committed rampant corruption. “If anybody wanted to see those responsible for current poor economic situation of the country, those could be found on front rows of the opposition benches,” he said, adding that none of the them committed corruption less than one billion rupees and used to deposit looted money in accounts opened against names of vendors like the one selling ‘Falooda’

The minister also came harsh on former opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah, saying that he regularised over 100,000 people without caring for merit thus burdened the national economy and government institutions.

Commenting on role of the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Fawad said his party opposed creation of Pakistan at the time of independence and they were still not on the right track. “The Maulana sees Israeli planes in the day time and stars in the sky in the nights,” he said.