Many a Punjab spokesperson once defended PML-N, PPP

LAHORE :The fresh list of the Punjab government spokespersons, interestingly comprised of the number of figures who have been defending PML-Q, PPP and PML-N, all the three rival parties of PTI in past.

Moreover, the Punjab government has drawn criticism for its decision of enhancing the number of its spokespersons which have now reached 38 as PML-N, though a resolution in Punjab Assembly have termed this move an attempt to hide the failure of Punjab Chief Minister.

The Punjab government, through a notification issued a fresh list of its spokespersons that now include members like Shaukat Basra, Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Uzma Kardar, Saadia Sohail and nearly three dozens more. Besides, most of the ministers, advisers, including Syed Samsam Bokhari, Raja Basharat, Samiullah Chaudhry, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Raja Yasir Humayon as well as advisers like Syed Salman Shah and Faisal Hayat Jaboana are also the part of this list. Syed Samsam Bokhari and Shaukat Basra have previously served as spokespersons for the PPP government between 2008-2013 as Samsam held the portfolio of State Minister for Information whereas Shaukat Basra was the Secretary Information of PPP Southern Punjab.

Samsam lost with a very thin margin from a National Assembly seat of Okara in 2002 as an independent candidate from Okara but won with a big lead in 2008 polls on PPP ticket. He lost the 2013 election and joined PTI by 2016 after which he was made Secretary Information Punjab.

Samsam contested the 2018 election on PTI ticket but lost and got re-elected from a Punjab Assembly seat from Sahiwal. Shaukat Basra also had a similar tale as he lost the Punjab Assembly election in 2002 but got elected on PPP ticket in 2008 from Bahawalnagar. He lost the 2013 poll but remained associated with PPP until 2018 but joined PTI at the last moment. However, he couldn’t make way to the assembly.

Syed Salman Shah, Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Faisal Hayat Jaboana and Fayaz Chohan remained associated with PML-Q or Pervez Musharraf in last decade.

Amongst these figures, Syed Salman Shah served as Adviser on Finance in the cabinet of Shaukat Aziz, Raja Basharat served as Law Minister Punjab, Mian Aslam Iqbal as Minister for Tourism whereas Faisal Hayat and Fayaz Chohan were PML-Q MPAs. Fayaz had joined PML-Q after ditching MMA on whose ticket he won from Rawalpindi in 2002 general elections.

Figures like Samiullah Chaudhry, Hashim Jawan Bakht remained associated with PML-N. Sami, Punjab Food Minister hails from Bahawalpur whereas Hashim Jawan, Punjab Finance Minister is from Rahim Yar Khan. Hashim was the PML-N MPA in 2013 and he quit Nawaz League a few months before the 2018 general elections.

Amongst the old guards of Imran Khan, names of figures like Umar Sarfaraz Cheema, Saadia Sohail, Dr Murad Raas are present in the list whereas party workers like Naveed Ahmed and Muhammad Irfan have also been assigned the task to issue statement on behalf of the PTI government.

Umar Sarfaraz Cheema is the only PTI figure in the current list of spokespersons who also contested the 1997 general election on PTI ticket from Wazirabad. Along with Imran Khan, none of the PTI ticket holder could win that election. Ejaz Chaudhry, who remained associated with Jamaat-e-Islami for a long period and also contested the 1993 elections on the ticket of Pakistan Islamic Front has now a decade long affiliation with PTI. Dr Yasmin Rashid, the Health Minister and consecutively remained an elected President of Pakistan Medical Association in past, joined PTI in 2010.

Her family remained associated with PPP, however, she never contested from PPP ticket like her father-in-law, Malik Ghulam Nabi who served as Provincial Minister in Bhutto era. She also contested against Nawaz Sharif and Begum Kulsoom in two controversial elections whose results were not accepted by PTI.

This is noteworthy that in the beginning, the Punjab government had only one spokesperson in form of Dr Shahbaz Gill but later, the number was enhanced and now under Syed Samsam Bokhari, a team of 38 members will defend Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar. Sources stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan had time and again instructed his team in Punjab to plead the case of PTI strongly in Punjab and highlight the achievements of the government. Imran had expressed displeasure on multiple occasion over his Punjab team for its inability to highlight the progress made in the province under PTI rule.

Every minister has been directed to hold press conference regularly to brief media over the performance of his department. Meanwhile, the PMLN, through a resolution submitted by its MPA Kanwal Pervaiz submitted that the appointment of spokesperson in such big number was nothing but an attempt to hide the failure of the Punjab Chief Minister. She also submitted that this would only add to the burden on national exchequer.