Fawad Hassan Fawad says he worked with Nawaz only as civil servant

KARACHI: Caretaker Minister for Privatisation Fawad Hassan Fawad has said that he worked with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif only as a civil servant.

Responding to a question about allegations of his association with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz during a press conference on Thursday, the former principal secretary to Nawaz Sharif said that "if you have a look at the historical facts, when the government was formed in April 2022, I didn’t join that government."

Fawad asked why he did not become part of that government if he was part of the PML-N cadre and so close to (the party leadership). "My relation should also be associated with Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi, Sadar Akhtar Mengal, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Taj Haider Jamali. My relationship can be associated with anyone as it depends upon you [journalists] and some people. They can associate me with anyone," he said.

"I say this for those civil servants who are working today with the government or who worked with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party, and also those who will be working with government in the future."

As a civil servant, Fawad said, he worked for almost 35 years, of which 11 years’ service was in Balochistan.

He said the civil servant don’t decide which government they will be working with, but people decide to send their representatives to the assemblies and its obligatory for civil servants to work with them. “I am among those civil servants who have spent very less period of service in Punjab despite the fact that I belong to Punjab. In my 35-year career of civil service, I have worked in Punjab only for six years and eight months.” He said there are some civil servants who have served in Punjab for 32 years of their careers. Allegations were levelled that he was working for someone, he said, adding: “Today I am working with this government because of my ability, competence and experience that I gained during my long service.”