On Thursday, April 18, Asad Umar took to Twitter to announce his exit from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet. No one was really surprised by the news that he was being asked to step down. But people were shocked by the timing; no one had expected that.
There were for almost a week that a major reshuffle would take place. A group of talking heads was told about the change by powerful quarters and news was put out by TV channels linked to them. Asad Umar had just returned from the US after discussing the IMF program. The budget was to be presented on May 24. Nobody thought Asad Umar would be shown the door at this delicate moment.
Only the night before he announced his resignation, Asad Umar appeared on Kamran Khan’s show on Dunya TV and looked very confident. “Difficult times are gone. Our economy is out of the ICU and shifted to the general ward and I am opening my clenched fist,” he told Kamran Khan.
“Asad’s fall began while he was on air,” said a Margalla valley pundit.
Soon after his interview was aired, communication between Asad Umar and Prime Minister Imran Khan began. “You know you are under attack and tired. You deserve some rest and so do I. Better, you take another ministry like the energy,” he was told. They talked well past midnight.
Asad was too smart to fall in the trap and declined to accept the new portfolio. The people close to Prime Minister Imran Khan told this scribe that he was very jittery and agitated. “It is clear that Imran Khan did not want to remove Asad Umar at this stage but his hands were tied and had no other option,” said an insider.
Next morning, Asad Umar went to his office, picked up things, tweeted his downfall, addressed a lonely press conference and off he went to Karachi.
There has been a great deal of talk about incoming Finance Czar Hafeez Shaikh not meeting Imran Khan before taking up his new position. Insiders in Islamabad tell a different story. “He came two weeks before this shake up and quietly met Prime Minister Imran Khan. I am sure he met other important stakeholders he is known to have connections with,” said a veteran reporter.
Shaikh was told to be ready after the budget was presented and the IMF program deal was sealed.
Many other ministries were reshuffled and the very look of the cabinet now looks more like a hybrid of PPP’s and General Musharraf’s cabinet with Imran Khan at the top. Another interesting feature of the new cabinet is the abundance of the un-elected members. On one hand it has created anger within the PTI parliamentary party and on the other it has diluted Khan’s control over his own government.
The main challenge now has shifted towards the Punjab.
“Now everyone is asking if we will have the same party ruling on the north and the south of the Faizabad bridge dividing Rawalpindi and Islamabad?” wondered a veteran analyst.
Nine months after the general elections, rumors of Chaudhry Nisar taking oath as a member of the provincial assembly were rife in the Pothohar region where he hails from. Many believed that his going to Punjab Assembly only meant he wanted to play an active role in the Punjab government.
“It is not a matter of if, but when Usman Buzdar is dumped. The main question is who will replace him?” said a senior journalist based in Lahore. Given PTI’s fractured and divided house, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat are demanding more than they already have. With the PML-N pushed to the wall, change could mean many things. Is Chaudhry Nisar joining the PTI? Has he patched up with the PML-N? What is he up to? So many unanswered questions.
The chances of Nisar joining the PTI are very slim. The only way he can become chief minister is if he gets the support of the PML-N. Does he have it?
“The only way Nisar can get support from the PML-N is if the witch-hunt against Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and other members of the Sharif family ends. If that happens, it will be a big deal but that will be the end of Imran Khan’s administration as we know it,” said a Lahore-based senior journalist.
“A coup against Imran Khan in Islamabad or him acting in retaliation will shake everything,” he concluded.
Whatever happens, one thing is sure. We are living in interesting times.
There were for almost a week that a major reshuffle would take place. A group of talking heads was told about the change by powerful quarters and news was put out by TV channels linked to them. Asad Umar had just returned from the US after discussing the IMF program. The budget was to be presented on May 24. Nobody thought Asad Umar would be shown the door at this delicate moment.
Only the night before he announced his resignation, Asad Umar appeared on Kamran Khan’s show on Dunya TV and looked very confident. “Difficult times are gone. Our economy is out of the ICU and shifted to the general ward and I am opening my clenched fist,” he told Kamran Khan.
“Asad’s fall began while he was on air,” said a Margalla valley pundit.
Soon after his interview was aired, communication between Asad Umar and Prime Minister Imran Khan began. “You know you are under attack and tired. You deserve some rest and so do I. Better, you take another ministry like the energy,” he was told. They talked well past midnight.
Only the night before he announced his resignation, Asad Umar appeared on Kamran Khan’s show on Dunya TV and looked very confident
Asad was too smart to fall in the trap and declined to accept the new portfolio. The people close to Prime Minister Imran Khan told this scribe that he was very jittery and agitated. “It is clear that Imran Khan did not want to remove Asad Umar at this stage but his hands were tied and had no other option,” said an insider.
Next morning, Asad Umar went to his office, picked up things, tweeted his downfall, addressed a lonely press conference and off he went to Karachi.
There has been a great deal of talk about incoming Finance Czar Hafeez Shaikh not meeting Imran Khan before taking up his new position. Insiders in Islamabad tell a different story. “He came two weeks before this shake up and quietly met Prime Minister Imran Khan. I am sure he met other important stakeholders he is known to have connections with,” said a veteran reporter.
Shaikh was told to be ready after the budget was presented and the IMF program deal was sealed.
Many other ministries were reshuffled and the very look of the cabinet now looks more like a hybrid of PPP’s and General Musharraf’s cabinet with Imran Khan at the top. Another interesting feature of the new cabinet is the abundance of the un-elected members. On one hand it has created anger within the PTI parliamentary party and on the other it has diluted Khan’s control over his own government.
The main challenge now has shifted towards the Punjab.
“Now everyone is asking if we will have the same party ruling on the north and the south of the Faizabad bridge dividing Rawalpindi and Islamabad?” wondered a veteran analyst.
Nine months after the general elections, rumors of Chaudhry Nisar taking oath as a member of the provincial assembly were rife in the Pothohar region where he hails from. Many believed that his going to Punjab Assembly only meant he wanted to play an active role in the Punjab government.
“It is not a matter of if, but when Usman Buzdar is dumped. The main question is who will replace him?” said a senior journalist based in Lahore. Given PTI’s fractured and divided house, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat are demanding more than they already have. With the PML-N pushed to the wall, change could mean many things. Is Chaudhry Nisar joining the PTI? Has he patched up with the PML-N? What is he up to? So many unanswered questions.
The chances of Nisar joining the PTI are very slim. The only way he can become chief minister is if he gets the support of the PML-N. Does he have it?
“The only way Nisar can get support from the PML-N is if the witch-hunt against Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and other members of the Sharif family ends. If that happens, it will be a big deal but that will be the end of Imran Khan’s administration as we know it,” said a Lahore-based senior journalist.
“A coup against Imran Khan in Islamabad or him acting in retaliation will shake everything,” he concluded.
Whatever happens, one thing is sure. We are living in interesting times.