LONDON: Breaking his silence over the removal of yet another aide to the premier, former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, better known as Zulfi Bukhari, has demanded that those showering praise on ex-aide Shahzad Akbar’s ‘excellent work’ for years must also be exposed and sacked, stating that it is highly wrong to throw him under the bus alone.

“New people have come in so it will take time, but it is highly wrong to throw Shahzad Akbar under the bus alone. He was there for 3.5 years, but there were also those who presented reports to the PM that Shahzad Akbar is doing excellent work. They, too, should be unveiled and sacked,” said Mr Bukhari during a talk with reporters at the Royal Nawab restaurant in London, where a meet-and-greet was held for him to interact with members of the UK diaspora.

The event was attended by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s UK supporters, and featured an address by Mr Bukhari as well as Sahibzada Jahangir, the PM’s spokesperson on trade and investment in the UK and Europe. MP Naz Shah, who Mr Bukhari later thanked on Twitter for her support, was also present.

Mr Bukhari, however, also praised the premier for taking action against non-performers in the government.

Ex-aide to PM demands sacking of all those who kept saying ‘everything is OK’

Reiterating what the PM had referred as multiple factors behind the resignation of the accountability adviser, Mr Bukhari said: “As far as adviser Shahzad Akbar is concerned, if he has not performed as Khan sahab said then there may be multiple reasons. It could be that he did not have a good team, he did not understand the system, he was not the best lawyer.”

He continued, “People were expecting that money would be recovered from overseas, and if not that then they expected that we would force Nawaz Sharif back. Perhaps Shahzad Akbar was not able to handle that in the correct manner.”

“The PM knew that this work was not being done. But credit goes to the prime minister that when he sees something failing, be it a close aide like Shahzad Akbar or someone else, he takes action,” he said before attempting to explain his party’s failure to deliver judicial reforms.

“Accountability is a challenging subject when it comes to the judicial process. If there is one weakness, we should admit to having, it’s that in the early years we did not deliver judicial reforms. When these reforms are passed, then courts deliver decisions.”

Mr Akbar had announced his resignation on social media last month amidst reports that pressure was mounting on the government to deliver results to match its accountability rhetoric. He was appointed as the special assistant to the prime minister on accountability and interior in August 2018 and was also the chair of the Asset Recovery Unit, which had been created with a mandate to “bring back looted money stashed abroad”.

Asked to comment on the UK police’s warning to Pakistani dissidents being targeted abroad, Mr Bukhari said he was not aware of the reports.

He also spoke of the debate surrounding dual nationalities of public officials. “When bureaucrats and politicians in their older age take iqamas and citizenship from another country, then it means they are looking for an exit. But in my opinion, if you have a citizenship for over 30 years, then you can fight for it,” he said.

Mr Bukhari added that his British citizenship was a result of him being born in the UK, and that in the next six months he would start the process to surrender his nationality.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022