Morsi’s former PM returns to Irrigation Ministry

Egypt's former Prime Minister Hisham Qandil has returned to his position in the country’s Irrigation Ministry, a department spokesman said on Thursday. Qandil was appointed by former president Mohammed Morsi in 2012, although he is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Khaled Wassif, spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, said Qandil had submitted a formal request to return to his position at the department. In a statement released on Thursday, Wassif denied there was any political motivation for the decision, adding Qandil had the right to return to his former job. The former prime minister was minister of water resources before being appointed prime minister in August 2012. He was dismissed when the Morsi-led government was overthrown by the army on July 3, following mass demonstrations. Qandil was sentenced to a year in prison for not executing a court ruling. But Wassif said Qandil’s return to the Irrigation Ministry was not in contradiction with the imprisonment order, saying it was not a criminal ruling.