Punjab minister Ghafoor restored

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has asked Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor to continue working as Minister Prisons. The CM had stopped him from working after his row with the customs officials at Allama Iqbal International Airport a couple of weeks back.
Ghafoor got a new lease of life of his tenure as the CM wrote a letter to him, asking him to perform his duties honestly though with reprimand. The letter says to become a public representative is a unique honour that Allah Almighty bestows upon only few people. However, this honour also entails a huge responsibility and as public representative, our prime duty is to show highest level of propriety in our social conduct and be a role model for the general public.
Referring to the untoward incident that of May 19 last, the CM said that government was committed to uphold the law and for that reason it appointed an independent tribunal to inquire into the matter. He said that contrary to the allegations, the tribunal, in its findings, has not found the reported facts completely true and suggested that media blew up the incident out of proportions. He regretted that the conduct of a provincial minister was categorised as inappropriate. According to the CM, such questionable conduct should not have been exhibited in the first place. It is needless to emphasize that the public representatives and incumbents of public offices, need to be more cautious and careful than the ordinary citizen.
The Chief Minister hoped that in future, besides making meaningful contribution to the affairs of the government, the minister will do his best to uphold the principles of rule of law, show exemplary public behaviour and proper social conduct values most cherished by any civilized and law-abiding society.

The Nation : June 08, 2009