ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to remove all top-ranking officials appointed by the last government and utilise over 2,400 state properties for “better” purposes.

According to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the decisions were taken at a meeting of the federal cabinet presided over Prime Minister Imran Khan here on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference after the cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister Office, the minister claimed that most of the top-ranking officials had been appointed by former finance minister Ishaq Dar “illegally” and, therefore, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had decided to remove them. “They are top-level officials in banks and government departments as, according to a Supreme Court decision, only the cabinet could appoint directors and heads of departments. However, this role had been unlawfully delegated to Ishaq Dar by the previous PML-N government,” he said.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Mr Chaudhry had disclosed that the government would soon remove Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Ali Jahangir Siddiqui and High Commissioner in Canada Tariq Azeem Chaudhry.

Minister says cabinet meeting chaired by prime minister decides to utilise over 2,400 state properties for ‘better’ purposes

He said that so far some top officials had been removed from their posts, including National Bank of Pakistan president Saeed Ahmed, First Women Bank president Tahira Raza, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited president Syed Talat Mehmood and SME Bank president Ehsanul Haq Khan.

Four senior officials of regulatory bodies have also been removed. They are: deputy governors of the State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed and Shamsul Hassan, Competition Commission of Pakistan chairperson Vadiya Khalil and Dr Mohammad Saleem and Shahzad Ansar of the CCP.

Government properties

The information minister said the government had decided to get vacated 2,467 state properties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and the federal capital so that they could be used for better purposes. The properties included palatial official residences and offices.

He said the residence of a commissioner in Punjab was spread over 35 kanals on average and that of a deputy commissioner as large as 32 kanals. “It is ironical that the government officers of the country, which is under a burden of Rs28 trillion debt, are residing in such palatial houses,” he added.

Mr Chaudhry said a task force headed by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had been formed to determine best possible purposes of these properties.

Turkish university

The information minister said Turkey would soon establish a university of hospitality in the federal capital and this had been approved by the cabinet. “The university will be a gift for Islamabad,” he added.

He said the cabinet also gave a go-ahead to convert the Prime Minister House into a high-profile university under the government’s austerity measures. A committee headed by Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood has been formed to implement the plan. Other members of the committee include Dr Shireen Mazari, Abdul Razak Dawood, Dr Ishrat Hussain and the Higher Education Commission chairman.

Under the austerity measures, Mr Chaudhry said, the government had already reduced the expenses of the PM House by selling 62 cars and eight buffaloes, generating an amount of Rs182 million. Similarly, he added, the number of employees of the PM House had been reduced from 528 to four-five. The rest of the employees have gone into the government’s surplus pool and have not been removed from service.

The federal cabinet, he said, had also decided to keep people informed about the government’s 100-day agenda. In this connection, he said a website had been established so that the people could track the progress of the agenda. The website — pm100days.pmo.gov.pk — lists the milestones achieved by the PTI government in various areas of governance.

Mr Chaudhry said a delegation from the United Arab Emirates would soon visit Pakistan to sign various investment agreements. “Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE wants to invest in different fields in Pakistan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2018