President Dr Arif Alvi has approved the removal of Ahad Khan Cheema as an adviser to the prime minister on establishment. This decision comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ordered Cheema’s removal and issued directives following a petition seeking his removal, as well as the removal of Privatisation and Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Tauqeer Hussain Shah from their posts. The ECP’s decision was based on the petition’s argument that the transparency of elections was not possible with these individuals in the caretaker government.
The statement from the presidency mentioned that President Alvi’s approval for removing Cheema from his post was given after caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar sent a summary for the same on the ECP’s directives. This decision was made under Article 48-1 of the Constitution and the premier’s advice. Cheema had also served as a special assistant in the previous PML-N-led government and was the only exception who was part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government and Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s cabinet.
Despite serving in the interim federal cabinet, Cheema had been acquitted in the assets beyond means reference by the National Accountability Bureau and later by an accountability court. The current interim federal cabinet includes many ministers known for their close association with the PML-N, and PM Kakar had previously dispelled the impression of the caretakers being a “B” team of the PML-N, emphasizing that Fawad and Cheema were seasoned bureaucrats who had served the state instead of any political party.