Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan upholds her outburst on AC Sialkot Sonia Sadaf
In a press conference held in Lahore Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Punjab (SACM) Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan offered her point clarifying the misconception that arouse after she held Assistant Commissioner Sialkot Sonia Sadaf accountable for the poor quality of fruit on her visit to Ramazan Bazar.
She said she had visited the Bazaar to “fight for the people and not for a specific family”, adding that the people, who were “trying to color the incident according to their own [interests]” rather than sympathizing with the public are trying to create disputes among the Government and Bureaucracy would be let down.
Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan further said “If government SOPs (standard operating procedures) are not followed somewhere, then public representatives are answerable to the public. Any person who takes their salary from the people’s taxes is answerable to the public and is a guardian of people’s rights.”
Media trying to alter the narrative
Awan also claimed that some media persons are trying to change the narrative; that her anger was as a result of not being given protocol. Also in her recent tweet, she said that independent journalism is the guarantee of the prosperity, of any society.
آزاد صحافت کسی بھی معاشرے کے بہتر انداز میں پھلنے پھولنے کی ضمانت ہے! تحریک انصاف حکومت آزادی صحافت پر یقین رکھتی ہے! عالمی یوم آزادی صحافت کے موقع پر سچ کا ساتھ دینے والے ان محنتی صحافیوں کو سلام پیش کرتی ہوں جو مشکل سے مشکل وقت میں درست معلومات کی عوام تک رسائی یقینی بناتے ہیں۔
— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) May 3, 2021
Awaam First
Summarizing yesterday’s incident she said: “Anyone who stands in the way of the Punjab government’s initiative and Usman Buzdar’s roadmap and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s mission; then I want to make it clear that I am the awaam first and then a representative of the awaam,“.
“I went to some 14 Ramazan Bazaars before this in Lahore [and] Gujranwala. I have also visited utility stores and I have never seen such an attitude;” she said alluding to the assistant commissioner.
