Pak's Punjab province minister sacked over his anti-Hindu remarks
Lahore, Mar 5: Pakistan's Punjab province government on Tuesday sacked its Information and Culture Minister Fayyaz Ul Hassan Chohan over his anti-Hindu remarks that invited intense criticism from senior party leaders and the minority community.
Prime Minister Imran Khan took serious notice of Chohan's 'anti-Hindu' remarks and directed Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to remove him forthwith, party sources said.
"PTI Punjab government has removed Fayyaz Chohan from the post of Punjab Information Minister following derogatory remarks about the Hindu community," official twitter account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tweeted.
It further said: "Bashing someone's faith should not be a part of any narrative. Tolerance is the first & foremost pillar on which #Pakistan was built."
A spokesman for Punjab chief minister said Chohan submitted his resignation to the chief minister which was immediately accepted.
According to a senior government official, the chief minister had "forgiven" Chohan after he publicly apologised for his remarks, but the prime minister directed Buzdar to immediately remove him from the ministry.
Chohan had come under severe criticism from senior members of his party, ministers and social media users with #SackFayazChohan trending on Twitter for his controversial remarks while addressing a gathering on February 24 in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
Earlier in the day, Chohan apologised for his remarks following intense criticism.
"I was addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian armed forces and their media not the Hindu community in Pakistan," he said.
"I apologise if my remarks hurt the Hindu community in Pakistan," Chohan said. "My remarks were in no way directed at Pakistan's Hindu community."
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government "will not tolerate this nonsense", party leader Naeemul Haque, who is special assistant to Prime Minister on Political Affairs, said Monday night in response to Chohan's remarks.
"The derogatory and insulting remarks against the Hindu community by Fayyaz Chohan the Punjab Info Minister demand strict action.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
