Nine ex-federal ministers still residing in state residence

Newswire

Islamabad: At least nine former federal ministers from the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, including Fawad Chaudhry and Pervaiz Khattak, have yet to vacate their state residence, over a month after leaving office.

PTI chief Imran Khan was removed from the prime minister’s chair on April 10 following a successful no-confidence motion. The vote meant that Imran Khan’s cabinet stood dissolved and all ministers lost their office as well.

Normally, after losing office, the ministers are required to return any state allocated items and facilities, including vacating official residences. However, nine ministers from Imran Khan’s federal cabinet continue to reside in the Ministers’ Enclave. There are as many as 37 houses in the enclave.

Media reports said that former ministers including Fawad Chaudhry (information), Pervaiz Khattak (defence), Hammad Azhar (economic affairs), Noorul Haq Qadri (religious affairs), Zubaida Jalal (defence production), Fehmida Mirza (interprovincial), and Usman Dar (youth affairs) are among the former-ministers who have allegedly continue to occupy the state residence.

The government may launch an operation against these former ministers if the state residences are not vacated, Khan said.

Earlier in a statement, Khattak said that he will be vacating his official residence later this month, noting that he needed time to shift his belongings.

Meanwhile, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser has vacated the Speaker’s House. His successor, the incumbent Raja Pervez Ashraf is expected to move into the Speaker’s House after returning from a foreign trip.

Even though Qaisar has vacated the house, he has not returned the two cars and eight workers assigned to him from the Assembly Secretariat. As a result, the Assembly Secretariat has issued a notice to the former speaker.