ISLAMABAD: In an apparent move to defuse the controversy over charges of massive corruption in Haj affairs, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday sacked two federal ministers, reshuffled his cabinet and removed the Religious Affairs secretary from office.
Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi and Science and Technology Minister Azam Khan Swati were sent packing by Gilani, after Swati accused Kazmi of corrupt practices in the Haj operations.
The prime minister sacked the ministers a day after Swati submitted his written reply with the Supreme Court, accusing Kazmi of being involved in corruption.
Gilani had earlier asked the two to refrain from making public statements against each other. However, Swati continued criticising Kazmi publicly and when the Supreme Court summoned him on Monday, he submitted a written statement that he had also forwarded to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which is probing into the Haj scam.
Following the sacking, the prime minister appointed Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah as minister for Religious Affairs, giving him the additional charge of the Labour Ministry.
Gilani appointed Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali as the minister of Information Technology with an additional charge of the Education Ministry.
The prime minister also appointed Makhdoom Shahbuddin minister of Defence Production with an additional charge of the Health Ministry.
Gilani also removed Religious Affairs Secretary Agha Sarwar Raza Qazilbash, who has been asked to report to the Establishment Division, while Overseas Pakistanis Division Secretary Saeed Khan has been appointed the Religious Affairs secretary.
An official source told Pakistan Today that before taking the decision, the prime minister had twice consulted President Asif Zardari who gave Gilani the go-ahead.
Later, talking to Pakistan Today, the sacked religious affairs minister criticised the role of a judge of the Supreme Court for becoming a party against him during the hearing of the case related to the Haj scam in the Supreme Court on Monday, saying “There should be a difference between a judge and a witness.”
“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But the media ran tickers on Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday’s remarks against me narrating the ordeal of pilgrims. How could a judge act as a witness? If a judge insists on being a witness, he should do so by standing in the witness box,” he said.
However, expressing faith in the investigation into the Haj scam, he said investigations would reveal the truth.
