06 February 2004	Friday	14 Zilhaj 1424

LAHORE, Feb 5: Punjab Sports Minister Naeemullah Shahani who appeared on the Eid day after being detained by tribesmen of the NWFP for 23 days, faces another ordeal - removal from the cabinet.

Official sources told Dawn on Thursday that the minister might be removed because of the displeasure of chief minister and senior government colleagues that he incurred by going to the tribal areas "on a private sojourn".

He was sent on Jan 9 to Bhakkar where a bus carrying mostly students had fallen in a canal, to calm down people angry over the delay in retrieval of some bodies, but he went to the tribal areas in the NWFP instead, they said.

They said the direction to Mr Shahani to visit his hometown to supervise the rescue operation as a representative of the government, was issued after some treasury and opposition MPAs raised a hue and cry in the Punjab Assembly over what they described as a lack of official support at the scene of the incident in which around 50 people were killed.

The law minister and the irrigation minister had announced in the House that the government was sending the area minister to the scene, who went missing afterwards, the sources said.

They said it was mainly the family of Mr Shahani that spearheaded efforts for his recovery as the government expressed its displeasure over his "personal activities".

"He embarrassed us," said an angry minister on the condition of anonymity, adding that Mr Shahani might be sacked to avoid further embarrassment.