ISLAMABAD: In a major cabinet reshuffle on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan assigned the portfolio of minister for national food security to Syed Fakhar Imam, replacing Khusro Bakhtiar who stepped down after a damning inquiry report into recent sugar and wheat crises.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan, at a media briefing, said the Prime Minister had kicked off the process of self-accountability from himself and his team. She said the changes were aimed at improving governance and also reflected there was no sacred cow.
She emphasised the Prime Minister wanted to strengthen institutions, instead of individuals, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came into power with the mandate to root out corruption from the society. She said if anyone worked against the public interest, they would face legal action.
After the cabinet reshuffle, Khusro Bakhtiar would now work as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs replacing Hammad Azhar who has been appointed as Federal Minister for Industries. While Azam Swati has been made Federal Minister for Narcotics Control and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Amin-ul-Haq as Federal Minister for Telecom. The Prime Minister has also accepted the resignation of MQM-P MNA Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as federal minister.
In other changes, Babar Awan has been appointed Adviser for Parliamentary Affairs while Mohammad Shahzad Arbab has been ousted as an adviser. Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research Hashim Popalzai has also been removed from his post and replaced by Omar Hameed.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment, Abdul Razzak Dawood, was also toppled from his position, sources told Geo News. It was, however, unclear if he had been given another post.
In another development, former Punjab government spokesperson and PTI leader Dr Shahbaz Gill took to Twitter and said Jahangir Tareen had been removed as Chair of Task Force on Agriculture. Five minutes later, Tareen himself took to Twitter and refuted reports he was removed as the chair of the task force, urging people to “get your facts right”.