ISLAMABAD – In a bid to keep the JUI-F engaged, the government is following a stick-and-carrot policy to pull the party back into the coalition government.
“On one hand, the government has given a green signal to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to move against former housing minister Rehmatullah Kakar to put pressure on the JUI-F, while on the other, no step has been taken to accept the resignations filed by JUI ministers Attaur Rehman and Rehmatullah Kakar,” a source confided to Pakistan Today on Thursday.
The source said for the same reason, the government was not pressing the ministers to withdraw their privileges and perks and they were enjoying all facilities. When contacted, Establishment Secretary Abdur Rauf Chauhdry said his office was yet to receive any resignation tendered by any of the two ministers.
“It is a possibility that the JUI-F ministers might have submitted their resignations with the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. But we are yet to receive any of those,” he said. He said once the Establishment Division received the resignations, it would dispatch them to the Presidency for further process.
When told that Kakar claimed to have sent the resignations directly to the Presidency, Chaudhry said in that case, the resignations were yet to be sent to the Establishment Division for issuance of notifications. Former tourism minister Attaur Rehman told Pakistan Today that he had submitted his resignation with the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and his resignation should have been accepted by this time.
“I do not care if the prime minister accepts my resignation or not. The day I tendered my resignation, I let go of my official vehicle and other facilities, although I could have kept those for a stipulated timeframe,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kakar said he had contacted the Establishment Division to know the procedure of the resignation. “I was informed that the president, not the prime minister was to accept my resignation. So I sent my resignation to the Presidency. However, I still don’t know whether my resignation has been accepted,” he added.
