Gilani sacks eight contractual government officials

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Friday sacked eight senior government officials from their posts including IG Sindh Babar Khatak, DawnNews reported.
DawnNews learned from reliable sources that the Sindh Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director General Tariq Jamil’s name was also included in the list of the sacked officials.
The Supreme Court had earlier asked the government to take steps to reverse re-appointments on contract at the senior level in police and in investigation agencies, while hearing a case on re-appointments of officials on contracts.
The appointments of the sacked officials were carried out without fulfilling essential legal requirements.
Sources told that a cabinet committee headed by secretary cabinet division, Nargis Sethi, was scrutinising the cases of another seven officials which were appointed on contract, but by following legal necessities.

Amin Fahim reappointed despite ministry scandals

ISLAMABAD: Makhdoom Amin Fahim has been reappointed as commerce minister in the new cabinet announced this week despite the fact that his ministry has overseen a series of financial blunders and irregularities which have cost the nation billions of rupees in losses.
Some of the major scandals include irregularities in sugar import and fraud at the National Insurance Company (NIC).
The Auditor General of Pakistan has brought documentary evidence against senior officials of the commerce ministry to the Public Accounts Committee but the reappointment of Fahim as commerce minister suggests that the prime minister may not be interested in investigating the matter further

Govt defers cabinet reshuffle for two days

ISLAMABAD: Government’s coalition partners and opposition parties had asked for two more days to propose their suggestions on federal cabinet reshuffle, the final decision is now expected on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.
The Prime Minister Gilani, approached the coalition partners as well as the opposition parties on February 4, seeking their input on the cabinet reformation by today. However all the parties found the time allocated insufficient and have demanded two more days for their absolute reply.
Gilani is likely to reduce his cabinet of 52 ministers, one of the largest in the world, to between 20 and 30, the senior party official said. Most of the shed portfolios will devolve to Pakistan’s four provinces under a recently passed constitutional amendment.
The sources told Dawn that there were adequate chances that the Interior Minister Malik might be appointed as a political advisor to the President Zardari, However the final decision would be made on Wednesday. –  DwanNews

Current govt a threat to Shariat, says Fazlur Rehman

Dawn

ISLAMABAD: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), on Thursday said the JUI-F did not pose a threat to the PPP-led coalition government.

However, the current government poses a threat to Shariat in Pakistan, he said.

Speaking at the National Assembly session here, Fazlur Rehman said the government was also under international pressure over the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) issue.

He further criticised the sacking of former JUI-F minister Azam Khan Swati and said Swati “was not a member of the PPP that he could be dismissed without consulting the party”.