Fawad Chaudhry wins Information Ministry back

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday handed over the reins of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to Fawad Chaudhry, for a second time replacing former minister Senator Shibli Faraz who is likely to be given another portfolio in a few days’ time.
PTI’s Senator Faisal Javed Khan took to social media site, Twitter, to congratulate Fawad Chaudhry on his reappointment and wished him the best.
“Congratulations Fawad for getting reappointed as Federal Minister for Information. Wish you all the best. Lots of prayers,” reads the tweet.
Sources in the government say that Fawad’s reappointment was a part of Prime Minister Imran’s plan to switch some more ministers and a new reshuffle is likely to be announced by this weekend.
Sources also said that Prime Minister Imran was not satisfied with the handling of Information Ministry by Senator Faraz and the premier wanted the minister to strongly portray the achievements of the federal government in the media.
They said that the premier was also unhappy over a rift between Faraz and Shehbaz Gill as the two had a verbal argument in presence of media persons which was also broadcast on private television channels.
They further said that Fawad as of late has won over the confidence of the prime minister through his hard-hitting statements and strong advocacy of the government policies with a clear-headed and logical approach on conventional and social media.
Sources said that the prime minister was giving final touches to the list of the cabinet changes and the announcements are likely to be made in next few days.
Fawad was appointed to the office of information minister in August 2018 but removed in April 2019 in one of the many abrupt cabinet reshuffles. He was replaced by Firdous Ashiq Awan, a relative newcomer to Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf (PTI) camp, in a move that took many by surprise.
Firdous too was sent packing in April last year and replaced by Senator Faraz, a longtime Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stalwart.
On Sunday, Pakistan Today reported that Fawad was set to get the high-profile portfolio back.
In March, Faraz had said that discussions were underway as to whose portfolio should be replaced with whom and why. “Performance is the parameter,” he said, adding that potential was the other factor.
Speaking on a television programme on Sunday, Faraz had said that was not aware of whether or not he would be included in the cabinet himself but expressed his belief that Fawad would be effective as the information minister.
On August 20, 2018, Fawad was appointed as federal minister for information and broadcasting in the federal cabinet. However, in April 2019, he was removed from the ministry.
On April 28, 2020, Senator Faraz was sworn in as the new information minister, in a ceremony held at the President House.
Fawad’s appointment comes as another major reshuffle in the federal cabinet. It was earlier reported that PM Imran is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle, potentially replacing several ministers and picking up some new faces.
The premier was reportedly unhappy with some key ministers’ performance and has already conveyed that only those would stay in the cabinet who can deliver.