AJK finance minister stripped of portfolio

MUZAFFARABAD: In a surprise move, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has withdrawn the coveted portfolio of Inland Revenue from his Minister for Finance Abdul Majid Khan.

In addition, he also stripped Mr Khan of the chairmanship of state-owned Bank of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (BoAJK) by replacing the finance minister with the chief secretary.

Two separate notifications, carrying March 10 as issuance date, were however circulated by the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) late on Saturday evening.

The decision came within three days of a “disclosure” by PM Ilyas at a Women’s Day function in Muzaffarabad that the commissioner Inland Revenue would get this position against Rs350 to Rs400 million [as inducement].

At the same function, the premier had also alleged that an AJK civil servant owned offshore companies in what had triggered a guessing game in the state.

Immediately, it was not known whether the withdrawal of the Inland Revenue Department from the portfolio of Mr Khan had anything to do with the premier’s assertions.

Sources claimed that harsh decisions by the prime minister against some civil servants were also round the corner.

However, when Dawn contacted the finance minister, he played it cool.

“It’s the sole discretion and prerogative of the prime minister to allot or withdraw any department from his cabinet members. I have been a member of his core team, and so far, I do not know as to what had made him take this decision,” he said. He said he was in Peshawar and would try to call on the prime minister on his return to Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023