Pakistan government appoints noted columnist as Press Minister in London

Islamabad, May 6 : Noted Pakistani columnist Irfan Hussain has been appointed as the new Press Minister at the Pakistani High Commission in London.

He succeeds Imran Gardezi from the Information Service, who has been called back for some other important assignment.

On the condition of anonymity, one of the top officials of Information Ministry confirmed that Hussain has been chosen to serve as Press Minister in London. He also confirmed that the appointment was made on the "personal request" of the columnist who had been writing columns under the name of "Mazdak" when he was serving in the government, reported The News.

Generally, the post of press minister in London is a cadre post from the Information Ministry, but ex-army men and government servants who use the media as stepping-stone, have been occupying this post.

Earlier, columnist Major (Retd) Kamran Shafi served as press minister. Likewise, PML-Q Senator Tariq Azeem, before joining politics, also served as advisor on press to the High Commissioner.

ANI