Asim Bajwa quits as SAPM after PM finally accepts

Retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on Monday said he has resigned from his position as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting which he said was accepted by the Prime Minister Imran Khan.

I requested the honourable prime minister to relinquish me from the additional portfolio of SAPM on Info & broadcasting. He has very kindly approved my request, Bajwa tweeted on Monday.

However, he will continue to serve as the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority that oversees the execution and completion of the projects in the country.

Bajwa had earlier submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister a report on FactFocus share details on his and his family’s meteoric rise in wealth. The news had blown up on social media after it shared in detail how Bajwa and his family had become overnight millionaires right after Bajwa was appointed as the CPEC Authority chairman.

The opposition parties had warned that the allegations should be investigated and asked Bajwa to tender his resignation until the investigations were completed. However, despite Bajwa tendering his resignation, PM Khan refused to submit his resignation.

Bajwa had in his defense, said that the article was part of the Indian propaganda and said that there was no basis to the allegations. The case was not taken up for investigation by the country’s investigation authorities as well.

Moreover, federal ministers and government representatives had also come out in Bajwa’s defense saying that it was all propaganda.

Opposition parties however blamed the National Accountability Bureau and the judiciary for failing to take notice of the matter and called them out for their selective accountability.

However, Monday’s notice comes as a surprise to many as Bajwa’s decision was unexpected.