Sumsam Bukhari sworn in as provincial minister Punjab

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf member Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari was sworn in as Punjab provincial minister on Tuesday.

Bukhari was administered oath by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar at the Governor House. The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other provincial ministers.   

Bukhari is expected to replace Fayyazul Hassan Chohan as Punjab information minister, who tendered his resignation a day earlier from his post as provincial information and culture minister over his anti-Hindu remarks.

The Punjab culture and information minister decided to tender his resignation, after apologising for his anti-Hindu remarks as he faced severe criticism from senior members of his party's government and social media users.

A day earlier, CM Buzdar had summoned Chohan at the CM House and asked him to tender his resignation.  

Chohan in his apology had said, "I was addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian armed forces and their media not the Hindu community in Pakistan."

"I apologise if my remarks hurt the Hindu community in Pakistan," Chohan continued. "My remarks were in no way directed at Pakistan's Hindu community."

The Punjab information minister had come under severe criticism from senior members of his party's government and social media users with #SackFayazChohan trending on Twitter for his anti-Hindu remarks while addressing a gathering on February 24.

A video had gone viral of Chohan making the remarks while responding to Indian rhetoric in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt