LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan on Monday removed treasury MPA Uzma Kardar from his ministry’s media strategy committee and the slot of the Punjab government’s spokesperson allegedly over an audio leak of hers that could harm the prime minister politically.

The woman in the audio, said to be Ms Kardar, one of the most active PTI women workers in Lahore, talks about the increasing role of the establishment in the Imran Khan government. She also remarks how an individual close to PM Khan was influential in deciding important matters such as postings of senior officials.

Sources say the information minister removed Ms Kardar from her office on instructions from the party leadership.

The audio recording, apparently of a phone call, went viral on social media on Monday where the woman identified as Ms Kardar was heard saying that the establishment had increased its role in the government and managed to change (matters in relation to the) the whole media.

“The establishment, the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan are going hand-in-hand,” the recording said.

The voice in the audio was also found acknowledging that no government in Pakistan could be run without the support of the establishment.

It also spoke about how an individual very close to the PM favoured friends and prevented others from approaching Mr Imran Khan.

Though the motive behind the outburst is not clear, the lady identified as Ms Kardar also chided the Punjab information department for not allowing her to appear at different news channel shows and added that the media coordinators were ensuring that she won’t participate in talk shows as they were recommending some other spokespersons to the media.

When contacted, Ms Kardar opted to stay silent on the subject and did not respond to the question about her removal from the media strategy committee.

Meanwhile, in a video message released on social media, Ms Kardar termed the audio as a manipulated content from her actual conversation to malign her reputation. She said that she would go for legal action against the content made viral on social media through an anonymous account. She said that she would meet the CM and explain her position in person. She said she also respected the armed forces.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2020