Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s special assistant, Huzaifa Rehman, compared the premier’s intelligence to that of scientist Isaac Newton while defending his working style and responding to complaints about access to him.
“I often tell the prime minister that his IQ is close to Newton’s,” Rehman said.
Rehman, the special assistant on national heritage and culture with minister of state status, also joked that he expected to retain his position because his own intelligence was close to the prime minister’s.
Discussing ministerial performance, he claimed that Sharif’s expectations were so demanding that, given his preference, he would remove 52 or 53 of what Rehman described as 55 ministers.
He presented the comparison as praise for the premier’s abilities, alongside an account of his daily schedule. Sharif works from 6 am to 10 pm and convenes a federal cabinet meeting every week, Rehman said.
His remarks addressed complaints by federal minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh that the prime minister had not given him time for a meeting.
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Rehman argued that cabinet members should raise their concerns at cabinet meetings. He maintained that ministers whose performance fell short could not expect to remain close to Sharif, whom he described as intolerant of corruption and incompetence.
Turning to criticism from federal minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Rehman drew a distinction between coalition partners’ reservations and dissent within the government.
Coalition parties naturally had expectations of the administration and could disagree with its decisions, he argued. He described Hussain as honest and defended his right to express reservations as a representative of an allied party.
Rehman also praised Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s approach to administrative appointments.
Although political figures often wanted their preferred candidates appointed as deputy commissioners or tehsildars, he maintained that her policy required appointments to be made on merit.
