KARACHI, Dec 25: With tears rolling down her face, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan dropped a bombshell at a special cabinet meeting on Sunday when she said she was offering her resignation.

The 100th meeting of the cabinet was held in Karachi to pay homage to the father of the nation and show unity and resolve of the government facing diverse challenges.

But the drama proved to be short-lived. Ms Awan withdrew her decision when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani assured her that her reservations would be addressed.

Ms Awan had grievances against the PPP leadership and others who, she alleged, created hurdles and made it difficult for her to perform her duty.

Everyone, including the prime minister, was taken aback when she left the meeting and refused to withdraw her resignation even after former and incumbent law ministers Dr Babar Awan and Maula Bakhsh Chandio went out to try to persuade her to do so.

The resignation sparked speculations because of its timing as it coincided with a public meeting of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf in Karachi.

Ms Awan was to be the third information minister to resign after Sherry Rehman and Qamruzzaman Kaira over the past four years.

Offering the resignation, Ms Awan broke into tears and said she fully endorsed the vision and policy of the president and the prime minister, but added that she was not able to perform the task given to her.

Some media reports suggested that Ms Awan offered to resign because of criticism within the ruling party over her perceived failure to defend the government in the ‘memogate’ scandal, according to foreign and local news agencies.

The uncertainty ended quickly when the information minister told reporters after the cabinet meeting that the prime minister had refused to accept her resignation and assured her that her reservations would be addressed.

“The prime minister tore down my resignation and asked me to continue my work,” Ms Awan said.

“Now I am satisfied. I always stood by my party and leadership,” she said.

“I talked openly and expressed my reservations to the prime minister. I do not want to stick to the position where problems and hurdles are created in the effective running of the affairs of the ministry.”

She said: “I want a position where I can deliver, perform and give relief to the people. Only a fully-empowered minister can perform and deliver. How can a minister deliver and perform if irrelevant persons interfere in the affairs of my ministry and try to exercise the powers of the minister? In such a situation I cannot facilitate the media and my own government.”

She said she would never tolerate “outsiders” interfering in her ministry, adding that she needed a team of her own choice.

Ending speculations, she vowed to continue working to implement the vision and roadmap of the Pakistan People’s Party in an effective manner. She said she was bound to obey party discipline.

Political observers were of opinion that although the matter had apparently been resolved and Ms Awan withdrew her decision, it exposed divisions in the government and the party, especially in view of the fast-changing political landscape of the country.