Ex-DG IB Ijaz Shah made parliamentary affairs minister

ISLAMABAD: Former IB director general Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Ahmad Shah was Friday inducted into the federal cabinet as minister for parliamentary affairs. In a tweet, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said President Dr. Arif Alvi had formally approved Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah’s induction into the federal cabinet on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Ijaz Shah is an MNA from NA-118. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs was being taken care of by Ali Muhammad Khan MNA as state minister. Earlier, speculations were rife about his induction as minister for interior.

Ijaz Shah served as director general of Intelligence Bureau from 2004 to 2008. Reacting to his induction in the federal cabinet, the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) said it was continuation of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorial rule.

In a statement, PPPP Secretary Information Dr. Nafisa Shah, MNA, said Ijaz Shah was an accused in the murder of Benazir Bhutto and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision amounted to protecting a killer. She said during General Musharraf’s rule, Ijaz Shah was massively involved in political engineering.

“Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had said in an email that if she was assassinated, then Ijaz Shah must be probed about her murder. The puppet government of Imran Khan is a continuation of General Musharraf’s rule,” she added.

PPP leader and Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Saeed Ghani said Shah’s appointment as minister showed that the purpose for which Imran Khan was brought to power was being fulfilled. “An accused in the murder of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was elected first through fraudulent elections and now he has been made a minister,” Ghani said in a tweet.