Arsalan Iftikhar resigns as Vice Chairman of Balochistan Board of Investment
Son of the former CJ had caused heavy criticism for the government on his appointment
Lahore: (Dunya News) Arsalan Iftikhar, son of former Chief Justice of Pakistan, has resigned today from his post as Vice Chairman of Balochistan Board of Investment. The appointment was being criticized heavily by the media and opposition parties. His appointment was also being linked to the alleged role of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in the alleged rigging of General Elections 2013.
Chief Minister Balochistan, Abdul Malik Baloch, had announced in the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan five days ago that the decision of appointing Arsalan Iftikhar at this post was made by him and he reserved every right to do so. He had also justified the appointment of ex CJP s son saying that Iftikhar Chaudhry had been the advocate general, judge and then Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court and that he wanted to preserve Iftikhar Chaudhry’s relation with Balochistan by appointing his son as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Investment. He went on to say that it was an extremely difficult job to bring foreign investment in the terrorism trodden province and Arsalan Iftikhar, in his opinion, had the guts to do that.
However, speculations continued to grow among the masses and as a result Arsalan’s resignation has come. The copy of the resignation has been received by Dunya News. Arsalan Iftikhar has stated in his resignation that though he had accepted the post in the interest of the country yet certain elements started an organized campaign against him. He also said that those elements did not want him to work for Balochistan in that position and the organized campaign against him had been started with this malicious objective only. He said that he has resigned from the post and will continue to work for the betterment of the country in whatever capacity he could.
It is also worth mentioning here that the government has been alleged to have rewarded all the suspected characters of the supposed rigging of the General Elections. Najam Sethi, a renowned journalist and the former caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, was appointed as the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board. His appointment had also come under serious criticism. However, Najam Sethi had decided to stick to his guns despite all the media criticism and the cold war with the courts and is still holding on to his post.
Arsalan Iftikhar, on the other hand, has resigned from his post in Balochistan. This controversial son of the ex Chief Justice has made headlines previously as well. When Malik Riaz scandal surfaced last year, Arsalan Iftikhar happened to be a central character in it. In 2007, when the former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, had filed a reference against Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, he too had blamed the ex CJP of getting benefits for his son from the government. His appointment as the Vice Chairman of Balochistan Investment Board was also brought under criticism on the same grounds.
