Former Finance Minister Asad Umar has publicly acknowledged that the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government faced significant negative consequences due to the selection of Usman Buzdar as the Chief Minister of Punjab, according to a report by The News on Friday.
Umar, formerly a prominent PTI leader, characterized party founder Imran Khan’s decision to appoint Buzdar as a serious error in judgment.
Umar made these comments during an interview last month, recalling the moment when Buzdar was chosen for the role: “One day, Imran Khan came to me and said: I have found a great chief minister for Punjab. I said, who? He said, Usman Buzdar. I said, who is that?”
The interviewer noted that Buzdar was known to have come from a significantly underdeveloped region in southern Punjab. Umar confirmed this, adding that Buzdar apparently did not even have electricity in his home.
He then jokingly added, “[Buzdar] was such an incompetent tehsil nazim that he couldn’t even ensure electricity!”
Umar further stated, “Look, poor Usman Buzdar must be thinking what sort of man I am. Honestly, it’s not like it’s personal; he doesn’t owe me anything — but [appointing Buzdar chief minister] was a terrible idea, and we suffered because of that.”
It is worth noting that Buzdar’s tenure was often met with criticism and controversy.
Last year, Zulfi Bukhari, a loyalist of Imran Khan, also revealed that the former prime minister, who is currently jailed, had come to see Buzdar’s appointment as a “mistake” but had limited options for replacing him.
Bukhari claimed that Imran Khan, in reflecting on his time in power, realized that Usman Buzdar was not the ideal choice for Punjab’s chief minister. However, the political landscape in Punjab was complicated by various factions within the party who each had their own preferred replacements for Buzdar.
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