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Prime Minister Imran Khan is reportedly considering giving Babar Awan the position of special assistant, possibly of Information, with the status of minister of state after passage of annual budget, sources said. "The matter of Babar Awan's appointment as advisor may be discussed in the scheduled meeting of the Cabinet on July 2," sources maintained.
Babar Awan called on Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday to discuss important matters including his response to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the notice served to the premier over his Ghotki visit. Babar Awan is the Prime Minister's Counsel in the ECP. An accountability court acquitted former law minister Babar Awan on Tuesday while dismissing the acquittal pleas of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the Nandipur Power Project corruption reference.
On September 5, 2018, Babar Awan resigned as Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan on parliamentary affairs hours after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) decided to file corruption reference against him for his alleged involvement in delaying the construction of 525MW Nandipur power plant.
Babar Awan requested the court to begin hearing the case on a daily basis on March 12, 2019 fueling speculation of a reshuffle in the federal cabinet with a portfolio pledged to him in the event that he was cleared by the court. On April 19, 2019, Prime Minister approved a major shake-up in his cabinet, which saw his close aide Asad Umar stepped down as Finance Minister.
At present, there are five advisers to the prime minister with the powers and status of federal ministers according to the National Assembly website. Amin Aslam Adviser on Climate Change, Abdul Razak Dawood Adviser on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment, Mohammad Shehzad Arbab Adviser on Establishment, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Advisor on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs and Dr Ishrat Hussain Adviser on Institutional Reforms and Austerity.
There are 13 special assistants with four given the powers of ministers of state: Naeem ul Haq, Sayed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and lftikhar Durrani.
Despite several attempts to contact Nadeem Afzal Gondal Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Coordination for a response to the possibility of Babar Awan being made an Advisor he had not responded till the filing of this report.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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