Former finance minister Asad Umar has openly acknowledged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government suffered considerable setbacks due to the appointment of Usman Buzdar as Punjab’s chief minister, The News reported on Friday.
Speaking candidly in an interview last month, Umar — once a close aide of PTI founder Imran Khan — called the decision to make Buzdar the chief executive of Punjab a major blunder. Recounting the moment the appointment was discussed, Umar said: “One day, Imran Khan told me he had found a great chief minister for Punjab. I asked who it was, and he replied, ‘Usman Buzdar.’ I responded, ‘Who is that?’”
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Umar noted that Buzdar hailed from an extremely underdeveloped region in southern Punjab, so much so that his own home reportedly lacked electricity. With a laugh, he added, “Buzdar was such an ineffective tehsil nazim that he couldn’t even ensure electricity in his area!”
He continued with a touch of humour, “Poor Usman Buzdar must be wondering what kind of person I am. Honestly, it’s nothing personal — he doesn’t owe me anything. But the truth is, appointing him as chief minister was a disastrous decision, and the party paid the price for it.”
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Buzdar had long been a controversial figure, frequently criticized for his lack of leadership and administrative skills.
Adding to the critique, PTI loyalist Zulfi Bukhari disclosed last year that even Imran Khan eventually recognised Buzdar’s appointment as a “mistake.” According to Bukhari, Khan’s hands were tied politically, as internal party factions in Punjab made it difficult to replace Buzdar despite growing dissatisfaction.