Tag: Khusro Bakhtiar

  • ‘No action against cabinet members named in Pandora Papers till found guilty’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘No action against cabinet members named in Pandora Papers till found guilty’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said the federal cabinet members, whose names appeared in the Pandora Papers, would not be removed from their positions unless proven guilty.

    “Action will be taken once they are proven guilty,” said the minister.

    Chaudhry criticised the owners of media houses and said, “I see the photos of [Finance Minister] Shaukat Tarin and [Industries Minister] Khusro Bakhtiar being aired on TV channels, but not of media house owners, who have also been named as owners of offshore companies.”

    Prime Minis­ter (PM) Imran Khan on Monday formed a high-powered cell to investigate the 700 Pakistanis named in the Pandora Papers, including federal cabinet members, politicians, retired generals, owners of media houses, and others in establishing offshore companies.

    The cell will categorise the named individuals into four groups: those who have declared their offshore companies in Pakistan; those who have not declared their companies here and committed tax evasion; those who used their companies for money laundering and individuals who have not shown their offshore companies as part of the assets owned by them while declaring their wealth, reports Dawn.

  • PM’s meeting with pro-Tareen MPs: Hit or miss?

    PM’s meeting with pro-Tareen MPs: Hit or miss?

    A group of lawmakers supporting Disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen have met Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and expressed their concerns regarding all action against Tareen.

    Speaking to reporters after their meeting in Islamabad, PTI MNA from Faislabad Raja Riaz said it was held in a “very cordial” atmosphere and that the premier had assured them that justice will be done “in every condition”.

    He said the prime minister had sought time to look into their concerns that Tareen was being victimised, promising that “all requirements of justice will be met”.

    The PTI group contended that PM’s advisor on Interior Shehzad Akbar was allegedly misusing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Tareen and the mills of Khusro Bakhtiar and Haroon Akhtar were not made part of the investigation, reports said.

    Tareen group presented a charge sheet against Shahzad Akbar to the PM.

    Reports claimed that the prime minister directed Senator Ali Zafar to note all points raised by the Tareen group and said he himself would ensure that justice is done in Tareen’s case.

    Riaz and Nazir Chauhan told the media that prime minister had assured that justice would be done in any case and he would not allow anyone to abuse power.

    Riaz said that the premier has assured the group that he is “personally monitoring” the inquiry against Tareen and will see to it that justice is served.

    “The prime minister has asked for some time and Insha’Allah justice will be served,” the PTI leader added.

    In reply to a question, Riaz said that the group shared their reservations regarding Akbar, after which “the prime minister said he will not allow injustice to be done with anyone and that we should leave it to him and he takes responsibility”.

    Riaz clarified that the prime minister has not “acknowledged” that Akbar has meted out “unfair treatment” to Tareen, but the group has simply shared their concerns and the premier has assured them of looking into it.

    The PTI MNA claimed that the prime minister said: “You are all my allies. Even those who are opposed to me, I wish to tell them, no one will be treated unfairly and justice will be done.”

  • Asad Umar returns to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet

    Asad Umar returns to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet

    Former federal minister for finance Asad Umar, who was sacked for poor performance, on Monday was re-inducted to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s cabinet as the minister for planning, development and reforms.

    According to Special Assistant to the PM for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Khusro Bakhtiar was handed the petroleum portfolio instead, which was earlier held by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

    “A notification, in this regard, will soon be issued,” she tweeted.

    In April this year, hours after Umar was shown the door, the former finance minister had said that he was removed by the premier because of his “performance” at the post in the last eight months.

    The ex-federal finance minister, who is a close aide of PM Imran, had also said that he wasn’t disappointed over the decision. “Since taking the job, I’ve worked my socks off, even my family says I’m burn out.”

    Umar had further said that as soon as he was told to leave his post his stress levels nose-dived. “You can’t imagined how relaxed I am right now.”

    On another query that if his stint as the finance minister would be deemed a failure, Umar had said he would leave that for time to decide. He was replaced by Adviser to the PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.