Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday visited a Ramzan Bazar set up in Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot, where she lashed out at Sialkot Assistant Commissioner Sonia Sadaf over “substandard items” being sold in the bazar.
The video of the incident got viral where the CM aide can be seen misbehaving with the civil servant, triggering a strong response from the social media users, who called out the politician for humiliating a civil servant in public.
The CM aide took notice of the sale of substandard goods and told the AC that it was her duty to check the quality of the goods. “You are getting paid for the work and it is your duty to keep a check on the things here,” Awan shouted at the Sialkot AC.
The AC tried to give her position on the matter but Firdous Ashiq Awan continued shouting at her.
In reaction, the AC left the place in anger. After the incident, she gave her side of the story.
“We are here in the morning and evening and this is no way to talk. We need to take into account the hot weather and fruits can get spoiled,” she said in response to the CM aide’s reservations on rotten fruits.
Punjab Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik, while reacting to the Sialkot incident, said that the unfair treatment meted out to the administrative officer in Sialkot is condemnable.
In a statement, he said that Assistant Commissioner Sonia Sadaf and other administrative officers were on the frontline despite the scorching heat and COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned that use of unethical language with any officer or staff was condemnable.
There has been a strong reaction against Firdous Ashiq Awan for her behaviour with the AC. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar also came in support of Sonia Sadaf and expressed his disappointment over the incident.
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz also criticised and said,” Civil servants and bureaucrats come after hard work and passing the exam. As a minister, you don’t have the licence to misbehave with them.”
Columnist Hassan Khawar took to Twitter and said, “Publicly scolding civil servants can get you brownie points but will take a toll on the morale of those who have to execute your policies.”
