Expansion of Pakistan cabinet in first week of July on the cards

The coalition government led by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is going to expand the federal cabinet in the first week of next month, reliable sources disclosed here Wednesday.

"Some parliamentarians belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will be inducted in the federal cabinet in the first week of July because running the government affairs has become extremely difficult in wake of the resignations of nine ministers, who belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N),” a source in the ruling coalition said, wishing anonymity.

“However, no new minister from the second largest party in the National Assembly, PML-N, will take oath as the federal minister,” he added.

The source said that the PML-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would remain part of the ruling coalition but none of its nine federal ministers, who recently tendered their resignations to protest delay in reinstatement of deposed judges of superior courts, would join the expanded federal cabinet.

The former federal ministers belonging to the PML-N including Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ishaq Dar, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Rana Tanvir Hussain, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Abbasi, Khawaja Saad Rafiq are determined not to rejoin the federal cabinet until all the demands of their party are met, he added.

When approached, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, one of the former federal ministers belonging to the PML-N, confirmed that there is no chance of their rejoining the cabinet until demands of their party are met. He said that ministries are not more important than the steps to address the issues of public importance.

He said that besides the impeachment of General (R) Pervez Musharraf, reinstatement of deposed judges and removal of the PCO (Provisional Constitutional Order) judges, the steps to arrest the growing price hike and overcome the shortage of power and flour are their major demands. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

“Expansion in the federal cabinet is right of the PPP. However, we would not take oath as members of the federal cabinet until these issues are not addressed,” he added.

Responding to a query of this correspondent, Haider Abbas Rizvi said that they have no information regarding the expansion in the federal cabinet and induction of new members from the MQM. He said that public service is their real objective and not the ministries.