Tania Aidrus, Zafar Mirza resignations: What happened behind the doors?

Prime Minister Imran Khan's aides on Health and Digital Pakistan resigned earlier today one after the other, leading to a debate in the media as to what had happened behind the doors.

Speaking of the resignations of the premier's special assistants, senior anchorperson Hamid Mir shared the inside details with Geo News, saying neither tendered their resignation voluntarily but were told to step down instead.

Quoting sources close to the prime minister, Mir said there was a conflict of interest issue with Tania Aidrus, which she had failed to defend before the officials.

He said Aidrus had reportedly established an NGO, the Digital Pakistan Foundation, which was not in the knowledge of the concerned authorities.

However, while she was not drawing any monetary benefits from it, the NGO was a matter of conflict of interest, Mir said. Aidrus was also under pressure from her family to quit after the controversy over her dual nationality erupted.

As for Dr Zafar Mirza, the senior anchorperson said he was facing an inquiry regarding the import of medicines and a recent hike in the price of drugs.

"The health official could not satisfy regarding the price hike and had reportedly said that he was not directly responsible for it," Mir said.

"The prime minister has launched an inquiry into this," Mir added, noting that Dr Mirza had earlier offered to quit but was told to resign today.

Mir said he was told the performance of other special assistants and advisers is also being examined and action would be taken after the review is complete.