LAHORE – Provincial minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chauhan has been reappointedas Punjab Minister for Information and Culture.

Mr Chauhan has been granted an additional charge of the informationministership beside the Provincial Minister for Colonies.

Mr Aslam Iqbal had excused himself for the additional charge of handlinginformation ministry responsibilities.

On March 5, Mr Chohan had resigned from his ministry amid intense criticismover his derogatory remarks directed against the Hindu community.

The firebrand PTI leader’s resignation had come following reports thatPrime Minister Imran Khan had himself taken notice of his remarks, althoughthose reports were denied by the party.

Chohan, known for his tub-thumping manner of speech, was addressing anevent in Lahore on February 24 when responding to India’s rhetoric in theaftermath of the Pulwama bombing, he conflated Indians with Hindus, andused disgraceful words for the religious community.

As a video clip of the derisive remarks went viral on the social media,Twitterati using the hashtag ‘#SackFayazChohan’ had asked the government totake action against Chohan and remove him from his post.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque in atweet had said that the party would not “tolerate this nonsense”, addingthat action would be taken against the minister after consultation withPunjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.