ISLAMABAD, Sept 07 (INP): The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has asked Dr Atif Mian, who had been appointed to the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), to step down.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, "The government has decided to withdraw Dr Mian's EAC appointment."

"The government wants to move forward taking along ulema and all segments of the society, and if a different perception develops through a nomination, it is not right," Chauhdry added.

[timed-content-server show="09/08/2018 01:00 Asia/Karachi"]PTI Senator Faisal Javed in a tweet said Dr Mian has agreed to step down. "Atif Mian was asked to step down from the Advisory Council and he has agreed," the PTI senator said. "A replacement would be announced later," he added. The Pakistani-American economist's appointment to the EAC had led to severe criticism of the government. Earlier on Tuesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry while addressing the criticism had said Pakistan belongs to minorities as much as it belongs to others. “What should we do with the minorities in the country?" he had asked. "Should we throw them out?” The information minister had also questioned, “What is wrong with the appointment of him as a member of the EAC? Minorities have equal rights as majority in Pakistan: Fawad Chaudhry “This is the person everyone is saying will be the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in the next five years. Why should we not appoint him?” he added. “It is not like we have appointed him as a member of the Islamic Council,” the information minister further said. The notification stated the EAC will comprise 18 members of which seven belong to the government sector while the remaining 11 belong to the private sector. INP/LK[/timed-content-server]