After surviving despite his habitually crude and offensive actions and remarks on many occasions, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan has been finally kicked out from his ministry. The incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced that he was “removed”, adding that “bashing someone’s faith should not be a part of any narrative”.
Earlier, Chohan had met CM Buzdar, after which, he had shown utter overconfidence that he was not asked to resign and he was staying. On the other hand, the Chief Minister’s spokesperson said that Chohan had resigned and it was accepted.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had reportedly taken notice of Chohan’s irresponsible and hate-filled remarks, targeted against Hindus. PTI sources denied any such notice being taken, as the video of his final blunder was going viral on the social media. There was outrage against his ignorant statements from all quarters, including the PTI leadership, which took to twitter to condemn the former minister.
The federal Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari “absolutely” condemned the vile statement by tweeting “No one has the right to attack anyone else’s religion. Our Hindu citizens have given sacrifices for their country. Our PM’s msg is always of tolerance & respect & we cannot condone any form of bigotry or spread of religious hatred.”
The federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs, Asad Umer tweeted “Hindus of Pakistan are as much a part of the fabric of the nation as I am. Remember the flag of Pakistan is not just green….its not complete without the white which represents the minorities. Quaide Azam’s whole struggle was for a country free of discrimination”.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted “Pakistan proudly owns the white in the flag as much as the green, values contributions of the Hindu community and honours them as our own,”.
Minister of State for Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari distanced Prime Minister Imran Khan from Chohan’s “personal opinion”, which he called “appalling and embarrassing stance against minorities”.
Senior PTI leader and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque tweeted that “PTI govt will not tolerate this nonsense from a senior member of the govt or from anyone,”.
This was not the first time Chohan had utterly embarrassed his political party and the whole country. He is famous for using abusive language on television, misogyny and even going to the grave of a convicted murderer to cry and pay his respects.
Published in Daily Times, March 6th 2019.
