PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa communication and works minister Shakeel Ahmad was de-notified as a cabinet member on Friday amid growing infighting in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf over alleged corruption and irregularities in top echelons of the province’s leadership.

Mr Shakeel claimed that he quit the cabinet, with his “resignation letter” starting to circulate on social media platforms around midnight.

However, the provincial government insisted that the communication minister was removed on the recommendation of a three-member accountability committee formed by the chief minister on the orders of the ruling party’s imprisoned founder, Imran Khan.

A summary for the minister’s ouster was sent to the governor for approval, according to a spokesman for the government.

Shakeel accuses PTI govt of bad governance, corruption, says will ‘explain reasons for quitting cabinet’ in PA

A notification issued by the administration department read, “Governor KP, in exercise of power conferred under Clause 3 of the Article 132 of Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to de-notify Mr Shakeel Ahmed, minister for communication and works from his office.

It added that on his de-notification from his respective office, Mr Shakeel had ceased to hold the portfolio of the provincial minister with immediate effect.

In his resignation letter addressed to the governor, Mr Shakeel noted that he was quitting the cabinet position with great disappointment.

Listing the grounds for his resignation, Mr Shakeel insisted that the provincial government was compromised on its basic principles and commitments made by the PTI with the people at large during the election campaign.

“The people voted in favour of PTI on its anti-establishment stand but the provincial government has taken a step backwards from its principle stance,” he said.

The former minister also said that the bad governance and corruption at all levels of the provincial government had destroyed the image of the PTI’s programme and manifesto in the eyes of party workers.

“I offer myself before accountability at all forums,” he said.

He also said that he tried to raise voice against injustice, bad governance, mismanagement and corruption, as enshrined in the manifesto of the PTI.

“I shall explain the reasons for my resignation from the cabinet on the floor of the house in detail. In light of the above facts and circumstances, my resignation may please be accepted immediately,” he added.

However, spokesman for the provincial government Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif told a news conference that a three-member committee was formed on the orders of PTI founder Imran Khan sometime ago to investigate the allegations of corruption against members of the provincial government.

He said the committee, after recording statements of the people concerned and holding an investigation, had recommended the removal of Mr Shakeel.

Mr Saif said that a summary for Mr Shakeel’s removal was forwarded to the governor on Thursday.

“Late at night, reports of Mr Shakeel’s resignation started appearing in the media,” he said.

On August 2, Mr Shakeel and Barrister Saif addressed a joint presser on the orders of PTI party Imran Khan to deliver a stern warning to ministers and bureaucracy in the province that they will be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement in their respective departments.

The news conference was held after Mr Shakeel along with party’s general secretary Omar Ayub and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser in Adiala prison a day earlier. Communication and works department secretary Dr Asad Ali Khan was posted out the same evening after Mr Shakeel’s meeting with the PTI founder.

The chief minister had formed a three-member committee comprising former governor Shah Farman, senior lawyer Qazi Anwar and adviser to the chief minister on anti-corruption retired Brigadier Musaadiq Abbasi to investigate the allegations of corruption in top government circles.

On the other hand, a party leader, familiar with the proceedings of the accountability committee, told Dawn that allegations against Mr Shakeel were established before the committee.

He said that the committee’s report had been submitted to the chief minister, while it would also be placed before the party’s founder next Tuesday.

Another top PTI leader, who also requested anonymity, defended Mr Shakeel and said the party’s ranks and file were unhappy over his removal.

He said that Mr Shakeel was given the portfolio on the orders of Imran Khan.

“Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was unhappy with Mr Shakeel over his August 2 press conference,” he said.

The PTI leader claimed that Mr Gandapur asked Mr Shakeel to “tone down his rhetoric” in media talk as it would tarnish the image of the provincial government and the party, but the latter didn’t listen to him.

He also raised questions about the composition accountability committee and insisted that one memberwas the chief minister’s subordinate, while another was “cosying” with him.

The party leader said Imran Khan had proposed the name of Junaid Akbar, MNA from Malakand, for the committee but the chief minister ignored him and selected a committee of his own choosing instead.

Interestingly, this is the second time Mr Shakeel has been ousted from the cabinet.

On January 26 2020, Mr Shakeel, the then revenue minister, was sacked along with senior minister Mohammad Atif Khan and health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai on the charge of plotting against the then chief minister, Mahmood Khan.

Mr Atif has supported Mr Shakeel after his removal.

In a post on his X account, the former senior minister wrote, “Shakeel has remained my cabinet colleague for a decade and I have not seen a more honest person than him. He has pointed out corruption in the KP cabinet in his meeting with Imran Khan in prison. There is conspiracy against Shakeel and I will reveal two of its characters at an opportune time.”

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024