PTI government's two years in power and conflicts

The incumbent government entangled in various matters on various occasions

(Dunya News) – As the government completed its two years in office after Prime Minister Imran Khan was sworn-in in the National Assembly on August 18, 2018 and took over the reins of power with his claim to a new Pakistan. In these two years, neither the opposition remained inactive nor it could formulate a joint strategy against the government and the government did not face much resistance.

However, the incumbent government entangled in various matters on various occasions that rumors about it started making rounds.

The situation worsened due to the inability of the government to handle public issues administratively and the poor performance of the Kaptan’s team made it even more frightening. As a result, Kaptan had to back down one by one from his election promises and claims due to which the term U-turn become commonplace with the PTI government.

On several occasions, analysis about the government’s complete failure to handle matters were often given by the experts. The situation became so serious that PM Imran Khan himself mentioned the minus one formula and even said on the National Assembly floor that there was no other option but him, to which Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif gave an interesting answer saying there are options but they are not available.

Government and its conflicts

The number of controversies that have plagued the incumbent government in just two years may not have been so great in the past and the main reason for this was the administrative incompetence of the government on the one hand and the frivolous attitude of the ministers in the Kaptan’s cabinet on the other.

Soon after choosing his team, Kaptan realized that many members of his team were not capable of relying to play a long innings, so he continued shuffling his team. The details of which are as follows;

Shehryar Afridi

Shehryar Afridi, considered a close ally of the prime minister, was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs. He served as a state minister from August 2018 to April 2019.

Afridi was among those ministers who had been reshuffled when Imran Khan announced to reshuffle of cabinet with regards to the performance. His portfolio was changed from the Minister of State for Home Affairs and was made Minister of State for Saffron and later he was also elected Chairman of the Kashmir Committee in May 2020.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan

He was appointed Federal Minister for Petroleum in August 2018, however, his portfolio was changed following continuous criticism over price of petroleum products. Sarwar was among those ministers whose portfolio had been changed for failing to perform. He was appointed Minister for Aviation in April 2019.

Abdul Aleem Khan

After the PTI formed government in Punjab, Abdul Aleem Khan joined the cabinet as a senior minister and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Local Government and Community Development, however, in February 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested him in case pertaining to assets beyond income. He later resigned from the ministry.

In 2019, he was released on bail in May but distanced himself from the politics of the province and did not appear in much on the government s affairs. In April 2020, he had been again inducted in the provincial cabinet and been appointed as the Senior Minister of Punjab and Provincial Minister of Punjab for Food after Punjab Minister for Food Samiullah Chaudhary resigned from his post following the report into flour crisis.

Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan

In August 2018, he was inducted into the Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for information and culture. He resigned as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture in March 2019 after intense criticism over his offensive remarks against the Hindu community.

In July 2019 he was re-inducted into Punjab cabinet and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Colonies. Later, in December 2019, he was again appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture.

Abdul Razzaq Dawood

He was appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textiles, Investment and Industry in August 2018. During a cabinet reshuffle in April 2020, he was removed from his post and appointed adviser on trade. At the same time, Dawood was removed from the post of Chairman Sugar Advisory Board after the reports of flour and sugar crisis.

Fawad Chaudhry

In August 2018, Imran Khan formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Chaudhry was appointed as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In April 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a major reshuffle of the federal cabinet and Chaudhry was removed as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting. He was subsequently appointed as Federal Minister for Science and Technology.

Khusro Bakhtiyar

In August 2018, Bakhtiar was appointed as Minister for Water Resources when Imran Khan formally announced his federal cabinet. However, in August 2018, he was sworn in as Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan. On 19 November 2019, He was appointed as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research and served in that position until a perceived conflict of interest due to his sugar business, after which he resigned on April 6th, 2020. He was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs after a cabinet reshuffle on the 6th of April, 2020.

Babar Awan

After PTI success in general election 2018 he was appointed as advisor to Prime Minister on parliamentary affairs. He resigned in September 2018 after NAB opened an inquiry against him, however he was not proven guilty and inquiry against him was closed.

He was again appointed as Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in April 2020.

Azam Khan Swati

He was given the portfolio of Science and Technology but resigned from his post, after he faced an investigation over an alleged misuse of authority. Swati was accused that he had influenced the transfer of former Islamabad Inspector General of Police Jan Mohammad. The police official s transfer took place after Swati’s son had registered a case against a family of slum dwellers for allegedly trespassing on his family’s land. Five people, including two women, were arrested for trespassing on the land and beating up Swati’s guards.

In April 2019, he was appointed Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs but later his portfolio was changed in cabinet reshuffle over performance and was appointed Federal Minister for Narcotics Control.

Nasir Durrani

After winning the elections in 2018, PM Imran Khan shared in his first speech to the nation that he has asked Durrani to help improve the police standards of Punjab province. He was subsequently appointed as the chairman of the Punjab Police Reform Commission in September 2018, where he served till October 2018.

Corruption Allegations

Many players in the Kaptan s team had quit their responsibilities after they faced allegations of corruption during the two-year tenure of the PTI government. Here are some of them;

Amir Kiyani

Aamir Mehmood Kiani has served as Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, from August 2018 to April 2019. He was removed from his office in April 2019, in mega reshuffle, Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted him, due to illegal price increase in medicines.

However, he was later appointed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Secretary General in July 2019.

In June 2020, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) approved an inquiry into the illegal increase in the prices of medicines in April 2019 against him, which is still ongoing.

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan

She was appointed as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting in 2019 and was sacked in 2020 over corruption allegations.

Awan was accused of trying to take commissions from the government s advertising budget and of overstaffing state TV quotas.

Ajmal Wazir Khan

Ex-Advisor to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister & Spokesperson to the Provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ajmal Wazir was sacked for allegedly leaking audio in July 2020. It was revealed in the audio that Ajmal Wazir had taken commission from the advertising agency.

A fact-finding inquiry commission was constituted after the audio tape surfaced and the investigation is underway.

Following Wazir’s sacking, Kamran Bangash was appointed Advisor to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on information.

Tania Aidrus

Tania Aidrus, special assistant to the prime minister on e-governance and head of the much-touted Digital Pakistan Vision initiative, had announced to resign from her post citing criticism levelled against her and the government due to her dual nationality.

Aidrus allegedly formed an NGO called Digital Pakistan Foundation, which was registered with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Dr Zafar Mirza

He served as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Health. He was appointed by Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2019.