Is Aziz harming the image of PMLN?
Government facing embarrassment at ‘old’ allegations of $400m embezzlement hurled by Daniyal Aziz in mid 2000’s
Comment
Daniyal Aziz, the face of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) media presence has raised many questions in the journalist community of the capital due to his erratic and overly aggressive approach. Recently, Aziz was scheduled to speak to media, according to a media invitation issued by the Press Information Department (PID), but had to face a boycott by journalists. The protesting journalists were of the opinion that Aziz has been misbehaving with the journalists for some time now only because they raised some valid questions regarding the internal differences within the ruling PML-N.
The talk in town is hinting at two possible reasons for the erratic behavior of Aziz, the first possible reason being discussed in various circles is that the Government is under immense stress on various fronts, the alleged irregularities of billions in the Nandipur project and the news of infighting between various Ministers has made the Government edgy which has resulted in Aziz and other ruling party members having numerous altercations with journalists. The second theory labels the behavior of Aziz as ‘friendly fire’, this friendly fire by Aziz is causing great harm to the Government.
The good work done by the Federal Information Minister Pervez Rasheed who has expertly managed to counter the stringent opposition by his calm approach in the media is now in danger of being undone because of Aziz’s aggressive media approach. The prevalent opinion is that Daniyal Aziz is causing immense harm to the reputation of PMLN instead of doing any good.
If that was not enough an old clip of Daniyal Aziz is doing the rounds on social media and has become somewhat of an embarrassment for the Government. In the said clip that dates back mid 2000’s, Daniyal Aziz can be seen hurling accusations that the Nawaz Sharif Government which was dismissed by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 1999 was involved in embezzlement of more than $400 million.
Aziz was elected as member of the National Assembly on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PMLQ) in 2002 elections. He was later appointed as the Chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) by the then President General Pervez Musharraf. Later, in 2004 he was accorded the status of a Federal Minister. He joined Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) just a few months before the 2013 elections.