Fawad Chaudhry appointed information minister a second time

Published April 15, 2021
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has been given the portfolio of information for the second time. — APP/File
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has been given the portfolio of information for the second time. — APP/File

In the latest cabinet shuffle, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has been given the portfolio of information for the second time, Senator Faisal Javed Khan confirmed on Thursday.

In a tweet, Khan congratulated Chaudhry for "getting reappointed as Federal Minister for Information".

"Wish you all the best. Lots of prayers," he added.

Chaudhry replaces Shibli Faraz, who was appointed to the post in April of last year. Faraz was recently re-elected to the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Chaudhry had earlier been removed as information minister in April 2019, less than a year into the PTI government and given the portfolio of science and technology.

It is unclear whether Chaudhry will continue to hold the charge of the science and technology ministry as the government has yet to make the notification of his appointment public.

Who is Fawad Chaudhry?

Born in a politically active family in Jhelum, Chaudhry first dabbled in electoral politics when he contested the 2002 elections from a Punjab Assembly constituency and managed to secure only 161 votes.

He then joined Pervez Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) as its media coordinator and remained affiliated with it till 2012 when differences between him and Musharraf over the latter's decision to return to Pakistan led him to quit the APML and join the PPP.

Just before the 2013 general elections, he jumped ship once again and contested the polls for the National Assembly on a Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) ticket, albeit unsuccessfully.

Read | Fawad Chaudhry: The megaphone

Three years later, Chaudhry was ready to make a move again. In June 2016, he joined the PTI, a party he had chided on many talk shows including one he hosted himself.

He was rewarded with a ticket to contest a National Assembly by-election in Jhelum but lost. It was finally in the 2018 general elections that he won both National Assembly and Punjab Assembly seats in his native district but decided to retain the former and was inducted in the federal cabinet.

Opinion

Editorial

Chinese diplomacy
Updated 14 Mar, 2026

Chinese diplomacy

THERE are signs that China is taking a more active role in trying to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism...
Fragile gains at risk
14 Mar, 2026

Fragile gains at risk

PAKISTAN is confronting an external shock stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran that few of the other affected...
Kidney disease
14 Mar, 2026

Kidney disease

ON World Kidney Day this past Thursday, the Pakistan Medical Association raised the alarm on Pakistan’s...
Delicate balance
Updated 13 Mar, 2026

Delicate balance

PAKISTAN has to maintain a delicate balance where the geopolitics of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are...
Soaring costs
13 Mar, 2026

Soaring costs

FOR millions of households already grappling with Ramazan inflation, the sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices...
Perilous lines
13 Mar, 2026

Perilous lines

THE law minister’s veiled warning to the media to “exercise caution” and not cross “red lines” while...