Bakhtiar removed as national food security minister in cabinet reshuffle

National Food Security Minister Khusro Bakhtiar was relieved of his portfolio amid a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, according to a PM House statement.

Syed Fakhar Imam replaced Bakhtiar as the national food security minister. However, Bakhtiar was given the portfolio of economic affairs.

Hammad Azhar was appointed minister for industries and Azam Sawati minister for narcotics control.

Prime Minister Imran Khan accepted the resignation of Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. MQM-P’s Aminul Haq was appointed minister for telecommunication.

PTI leader Babar Awan was named as adviser to PM on parliamentary affairs.

National Food Security & Research Secretary Hashim Popalzai was also removed from his post. He was replaced by Omar Hameed.

The cabinet reshuffle comes days after an inquiry report on sugar and wheat crises in the country held members of the ruling alliance responsible.

Bakhtiar, Jahangir Tareen and PML-Q’s Monis Elahi were among the top beneficiaries of the sugar crisis, according to the report.

The 32-page report was prepared by FIA Director-General Wajid Zia, based on the findings of an inquiry committee constituted by PM Khan.

It unleashed a storm of criticism from the opposition parties soon after it was made public. They called for the accountability of those named in the report.

Earlier, reports suggested that Tareen was also removed as the chairman of the government taskforce on agriculture.

But the PTI leader denied the reports on Twitter. He said he was never the chairman of any taskforce.

Tareen was often seen attending important government meetings, despite holding no official position.