Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday withdrew the portfolio of foreign affairs from Tariq Fatemi, a day after appointing him as his special assistant on foreign affairs.
According to a federal government’s notification, Tariq Fatemi will continue to serve as special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) without a portfolio and has been granted the additional status of a state minister.
“In partial modification of this Division’s earlier notification of even number dated April 20, 2022, the prime minister, in terms of rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973, read with serial number 1A of Schedule V-A of the said Rules, has been please to appoint Syed Tariq Fatemi as ‘Special Assistant to the Prime Minister’ and grant him the status of minister of state,” the notification read.
Moreover, the federal government also issued a notification for change in the portfolio of Federal Minister Ehsan Mazari from human rights to inter-provincial coordination.
Fatemi had served as the SAPM on foreign affairs during the previous PML-N government under Nawaz but was removed in 2017 for his alleged role in ‘Dawn leaks’ — a story published in Dawn that reported the details of a high-level civil-military meeting discussing the issue of banned outfits operating in Pakistan.
