PESHAWAR: Special assistant to the chief minister on information Kamran Khan Bangash has said that removal of a minister and an adviser from the cabinet was a ‘routine matter’ and chief minister has the powers to reshuffle the cabinet members.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr Bangash said that sacked minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan and adviser Qalandar Khan Lodhi were bound to the party discipline. He said both of them had accepted the decision of chief Minister Mahmood Khan with an open heart.

He said Hisham and Qalandar Lodhi were removed from the cabinet purely on the basis of their performance because change in the province could only be made possible through an efficient team.

Earlier, Hisham Inamullah in a written statement had blamed Governor Shah Farman and federal minister for Kashmir affairs Ali Amin Gandapur for his removal from the cabinet.

He said the governor and the federal minister had a dislike for him and they finally succeeded in their objective of sacking him from the cabinet.

Meanwhile, supporters of Hisham Inamullah took out a protest rally in Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday and blocked the road to register their protest against his removal from the cabinet.

Later, the sacked minister held talks with the protesters and persuaded them to end their protest.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2021