A file photo of the National Assembly. PHOTO: FILE
The cabinet reflects the nature of the PML-N’s mandate. At least 20 of the cabinet members are from Punjab with only one from the south of the province, and a handful from the other provinces. The issue of Punjab-centrism has come up before during Mr Sharif’s tenures in power. The cabinet, of course, needs to be chosen on merit, so it can complete the tough work that lies before it. But at the same time, Mr Sharif also needs to ensure that he can establish his government as a truly national one and escape the notion that it is essentially a Punjab entity, reflecting an agenda associated mainly with that province. We all know the issues associated with this. Also to be noted is the fact that in a country where half the population comprises women, only two women are part of the cabinet, and that, too, as ministers of state.
Perhaps, what should concern us more is the matter of how the cabinet will tackle the long list of issues stretched out before it. Its degree of success in this will determine how the Sharif government is perceived in the longer run. The challenges are many. As Mr Sharif has already emphasised, reviving an economy close to collapse is a central issue. This issue has to be resolved to put the country back on track. Tied in to this is the energy crisis, law and order, militancy and the intricate issues of foreign policy. How these are handled will be of immense significance to all of us, given the desperate need to move towards progress and resolve the quandary of a nation pinned down by a tightly woven net of problems.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (4)
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If the appointment of Tariq Fatemi as adviser on foreign affairs is indicative of the quality of the cabinet positions - Pakistan is in for a difficult time. Fatemi is clueless when it comes to the West and America in particular - a major deficiency in a critical position.
@toticalling: There was not a single full woman minister in the cabinet. Woman can think about the direction teh new government is going
Mr Editor. Please do not fan ethnic and gender policies in the current Cabinet at this early stage. Perhaps you may wish to look at the same divide in US and UK democracies too, e.g., there are more Harvard and Oxford graduates in US and UK Cabinets and they don't go complaining till Kingdom come like we do. Realistically Punjab Schools and Universities have higher education standards than other provinces. Shouldn't prior PPP-MQM-ANP led Governments invested more on education in their provinces?? Whose fault is it?? Education is a provincial subject, is it not?? Yes, challenges Pakistan faces relate to bad governance by PPP and its Coalition partners. Load shedding lies at their feet for we all know how scams in IPPs and RPPs made politicians and bureaucrats rich, but didn't produce contracted Megawatt they were paid for. Let merit prevail for once, please!!!
NS makes the decisions. That is how it should be. I notice, however, that women are not playing as important a role as in the last government. The speaker of the house was a woman, so was foreign minister, just to name two. Are we back to land of men ruling Pakistan? There was something modern in PPP rule, although otherwise inefficient.