Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday ordered the demolition of the walls of Punjab Governor House, in a follow-up to his promise in his first address to the nation of turning the Prime Minister House and governor houses into public spaces.

Education minister Shafqat Mehmood had announced in September that the Governor House in Lahore will be opened to the public. The promise was fulfilled when the building was opened by the PTI government later that same month.

Punjab Information and Culture Minister Fayyazul Hasan Chohan confirmed the prime minister's instructions to tear down the walls at a press conference held after a meeting of the Punjab cabinet.

He remarked that the Governor House walls "were there to put fear in the hearts of people".

Chohan said such institutions had always remained inaccessible with people considering it unthinkable to just walk in.

"Governor House is not a historical building. It is an office," he stressed.

Chohan revealed that Prime Minister Khan had instructed Chief Minister Usman Buzdar that the walls be brought down. He said the steps to this end will be taken within the next 48-72 hours.

The education minister had earlier said that the schools and vocational training institutes located inside the compound of the Punjab Governor House, which is spread over 700 kanals, will be separated and the gubernatorial office itself would be converted into a museum and an art gallery. The property's grounds will be opened to the public as a park, which will include a small zoo.

Provincial departments' performance

Briefing the media about the cabinet meeting, the information minister said a detailed briefing was given by cabinet members to the prime minister regarding the performance of their departments and their future targets.

He said Khan urged the provincial cabinet to expedite efforts for the economic and social uplift of the common man. Additionally, Chief Minister Buzdar was given instructions to monitor the performance of the provincial departments.

The minister said that the "effects" of the previous committees' actions and their "accomplishments" were there for everyone to see and vowed that no person shall be given undue favours any more.

He said the expenditure of the Chief Minister's Secretariat had been reduced from Rs55 billion to Rs7-8 billion, whereas the Prime Minister's Secretariat witnessed savings of Rs18 billion.

Chohan said the ministers had also been asked to provide a 2-page summary of what they had achieved and what they have targetted to achieve.

He said the prime minister had spoken to the Price Control Committee regarding inflation and the rise in prices of commodities and how prices can be better controlled.

Prime Minister Khan also expressed reservations regarding transfers and postings across the province, Chohan said.

He said an event will be hosted between December 8 and 10 regarding the provincial government's performance which will unveil the achievements of each department.

Every minister will share his or her ministry's performance with the people through press conferences between December 10 and 20, Chohan added.