CM Usman Buzdar breaks silence on rumours about his ‘removal’

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday rejected rumours that he is about to be removed from his post, adding that the main objective of these rumours is to stop development work in the province.

The chief minister was speaking exclusively to Geo News when he said rumours of his removal as chief minister are spread every once in a while. "There is no truth to rumours of my removal [as CM Punjab]," he said.

He said that the Punjab Assembly and "his leader" — Prime Minister Imran Khan — had complete confidence in his abilities as the province's chief executive. "I am staying here and will continue to serve the people of Punjab," he said. "We are governing Punjab transparently; not even a single corruption case has been exposed," he added.

Speaking about former chief minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi, Buzdar said he had respect for the PML-Q leader and that both the leaders trusted each other.

Buzdar recounted the projects initiated by the provincial government in Lahore, rejecting criticism that the Punjab government had not brought about any progress in the city. "The entire credit for the completion of the Orange Line train project goes to the PTI," he said, also promising that access to the province's "flagship project", the Sehat Insaf card will be ensured by 2021.

Criticising the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the Punjab chief minister urged them to put their own house in order before criticising him. "The PDM [has now been forced to] hide their faces from the public," he said.

The rumours of Buzdar's possible removal began floating as a meeting of PTI members took place earlier this month, chaired by PM Imran Khan. Sources told Geo News at the time that the prime minister had indicated "big changes" in the Punjab administration. Sources said that prior to the meeting, the prime minister had met Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, adding however that the "changes" have nothing to do with the chief minister.