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Durrani evades questions regarding his removal

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani evaded questions on Wednesday about his removal from the ministry, but said, “No ministerial portfolio was perpetual or prerogative of a parliamentarian.”

Talking to reporters after a prize distribution ceremony for photojournalists at the PID Media Centre, Durrani said, “Nothing is permanent in life. These posts are no one’s prerogative. It is up to the premier to decide.”

When asked what party portfolio he was being offered in the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), he said he sought to honour the party as a worker. He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Musharraf respected and trusted him.

Durrani claimed that welfare of working journalists was the government’s top agenda. The government was finalising journalists’ welfare project, which would include group insurance and provisions of loans for buying automobiles under the President’s Rozgar Scheme.

He said the project for providing free medical treatment to journalists was also in the final stages and it would start within the next few days.

To a question, he said the opposition had lost its credibility and the all parties conference in London would be nothing except spending Rs 200 million that had been ‘looted’ from the national exchequer.

Earlier, Durrani distributed prizes among the photojournalists who won positions in the competition held at National Arts Council Rawalpindi last month.

Mohammad Irfan from APP got the first prize, Mohammad Asim of Daily Jinnah came second while Raja Zafar of Daily Express got the third prize and Shabbir Hussain of Daily Times won the fourth prize from among 69 participants.

The minister also announced Rs 200,000 for the Rawalpindi Islamabad Photojournalists Association.

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