LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Monday that she had submitted her resignation to leave her office to run party’s by-election campaign in Sialkot but was withdrawing it on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The premier has stopped me from resigning from my office and asked me to continue work to highlight the achievements of the Punjab government,” she told a news conference.

Sources in the chief minister’s house, however, claim that CM Usman Buzdar wanted Dr Awan to resign as he was not comfortable with his aid on information. They allege that Dr Awan was even bypassing the chief minister in making announcements, which Mr Buzdar himself wanted to announce.

Speaking at a news conference at DGPR offices on Monday, Dr Awan said by-election in Sialkot and Azad Kashmir’s LA-36 election were being held in her constituency and the Election Commission was sending her notices.

Dr Awan said she had requested the prime minister and the chief minister that she should be relieved from her office so that she could launch PTI’s election campaign to break the PML-N hold in the area.

Meanwhile, the PML-N has dared Awan to resign to run the campaign in PP-38 by-poll.

“Instead of making tall claims, Awan should have contested the PP-38 to see her and her party’s popularity,” PML-N Punjab information secretary Azma Bokhari said in a statement here on Monday.

The PML-N lawmaker said Firdous and Usman Dar had already been exposed in the Daska by-poll and now they wanted to rig the Sialkot poll too.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021