F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has appointed Fawad Hassan Fawad as federal minister in the caretaker cabinet.
The appointment was made on advice of Caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 (1a) of the Constitution. Fawad Hasan Fawad is a retired civil servant who served in BPS-22 as the Principal Secretary to two Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Fawad belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service and is batchmates with Zafarullah Khan (PAS), Sikandar Sultan Raja (PAS), Rizwan Ahmed (PAS), Jawad Rafique Malik (PAS) and Allah Dino Khawaja (PSP).
His work during his tenure as the principal secretary to the prime minister of Pakistan from November 2015 to June 2018 was largely focused on the fruition of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, effectively spearheading multiple infrastructure and energy projects and directing sector-wide investment across the nation.
Fawad was promoted to the rank of federal secretary in December 2017. Fawad belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service, formerly referred to as the District Management Group and served as Director General of the Civil Services Academy from 1 June 2018 to 5 July 2018.
Fawad also served as Punjab’s Provincial Secretary for Health, Communication & Works as well as held other portfolios. Fawad has served in the Government of Pakistan, Government of Punjab and Government of Balochistan.
Fawad was accused of corruption and misuse of authority by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scam. He was arrested by NAB on July 6, 2018 in the Ashiana Housing scam criminal investigation and was sent on 14 days physical remand by an accountability court in Lahore.
He directed the PLDC management to cancel the contract of Ashiana Iqbal without any inquiry. On February 14, 2019 the Lahore High Court division bench comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf also granted bail to Fawad, former implementation secretary to the chief minister, in the Ashiana Housing scam, but denied him bail in another NAB reference relating to assets beyond means.
On January 21, 2020 Fawad was granted bail in the assets case by the Lahore High Court by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Muhammad Tariq Abbasi and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq, on the grounds that no illegitimate asset belonging to him had been unearthed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), no charge had been framed against him and that there was no nexus between him and any asset, however he had been arrested at the inquiry stage.
On the 2nd of February 2023 Fawad was acquitted of all charges in the assets beyond means and the Ashiana Housing cases on merit due to irrefutable documentary evidence provided by the prosecution’s witnesses.
His acquital goes to show that the National Accountability Bureau was used to target and persecute civil servants and politicians to manipulate the democratic set-up over the years.
