Islamabad, 11 Feb 2022 (Media)

Islamabad – Prime Minister of Islmaic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Khan on Thursday has distributed appreciation certificates among ten federal ministers over their outstanding performance.

For the FY 2020-21, a total of 40 ministries and divisions prepared their agreements. Over 1300 reform, policy, development, and administrative initiatives were chosen for delivery through 6000 targets identified on a quarterly basis. For these targets, over 1700 inter-ministerial dependencies were tracked.

The top 10 ministries recognised for their performance at a ceremony held in Islamabad were as follows :

• Ministry of Communications, headed by Murad Saeed
• Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives headed by Asad Umar
• Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division headed by Dr Sania Nishtar
• Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training headed by Shafqat Mahmood
• Ministry of Human Rights headed by Dr Shireen Mazari
• Ministry of Industries and Production headed by Khusro Bakhtiar
• National Security Division headed by Dr Moeed Yusuf
• Ministry of Commerce headed by Abdul Razak Dawood
• Ministry of Interior headed by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
• Ministry of National Food Security and Research headed by Syed Fakhar Imam

The ministries with a performance score of 80 per cent and over were also highlighted in the function. However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Finance; Economic Affairs; Defence; Defence Production; Law & Justice; Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; kind of important ministries failed to obtain their position among top tens.

Addressing the function, the prime minister singled out Saeed for praise as his ministry came out on top despite his young age.

The premier said the appraisal would be a quarterly affair, bonuses would be given on its basis, also adding that in future the top 10 ministries should not be announced before hand so as to ensure the attendance of all federal ministers.

The Prime Minister's Office said the rewards were being distributed in accordance with "The Performance Agreement" signed with the federal ministries in which targets were set for them.

The PMO added that the main purpose behind the agreement was to evaluate the performance of ministries, enforce a system of rewards and penalties for government officials and improve service delivery.

Daily Express Tribune reported Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister in a letter to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Establishment Mohammad Shehzad Arbab, Qureshi expressed his reservation after the foreign ministry was given 11th rank.

He said that the foreign ministry had achieved 22 out of the 26 targets and 18 out of the 24 targets as per the performance agreement during the first quarter, adding that the foreign ministry also carried out high-level activities during this period.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs raises questions on the method of grading. It should be clarified under which method the grading of ministries was done," the foreign minister further said in the letter.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that PM Imran had distributed certificates among his ten favourite ministers, which meant that he had expressed "no-confidence" in the rest of the members of the federal cabinet.

Addressing a workers' convention in Multan, Bilawal said that the prime minister was busy distributing certificates among his ministers when he should be focusing on solving the people's issues. He vowed that the people of Pakistan would show PM Imran the reality of his government's performance. "The certificate that you will receive from the people in the [next] elections, you suffered a trailer of that in the by-elections," he said.

Bilawal said that the communications minister, Murad Saeed, was awarded a certificate even though he failed to work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In an apparent reference to Asad Umar, he said that another minister from Karachi was fired and then kicked out from one ministry, but was now looking after the planning ministry.