Ruling party MPs jockey for cabinet portfolios

Govt planning to expand federal and Punjab cabinets


Abdul Manan November 21, 2014

ISLAMABAD:


The ruling party’s lawmakers are engaged in hectic lobbying these days to find a berth in the federal and Punjab cabinets respectively, The Express Tribune has learnt.


This feverish activity has been going on for the past one month where dozens of groups within the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are trying to get their names included in the expected cabinet expansion. Even those ministers already having portfolios are looking forward to this as an opportunity to switch to a ministry of their choice.

Sources within the party have revealed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is worried about this on-going discontent in the party and is trying to resolve this issue with the support of his family members and some senior leaders. The PML-N is planning to expand its federal and Punjab cabinet after November 30.



There are dozens of groups in Punjab, but majorly 25 are trying to influence the party leadership to get their names in the cabinet, either federal or in Punjab, by all means.

The modus operandi adopted by these groups to convince their leadership is that they frequently visit the heads of three major groups in parliament, said the sources.

One of these groups is headed by Federal Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the other by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while the third group is jointly led by Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.

In Faisalabad, there are two groups, led by Rana Sanaullah and Chaudhry Sher Ali Khan, which are hard at work to seek portfolios for their ally lawmakers. In Lahore four groups are active, one is led by Punjab food minister Bilal Yasin, second group is led by Khawaja Saad Rafique, the third is led by Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and the fourth by Nawaz Sharif himself, maintain the well-placed sources.

In Gujranwala, two groups are busy in deal-making — one is led by Federal Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan while the second group is led by Usman Ibrahim. In Rawalpindi four groups are active — one is led by Chaudhry Nisar, second is led by Hanif Abbasi, third one by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi while the fourth is jointly led by Raja Ashfaq Sarwar and Sarwar Naseem.

In Balochistan PML-N’s Senior Vice President Sardar Yaqoob Nasir is lobbying to get portfolio in the federal cabinet while in Sindh Saleem Zia is jostling to secure the post of an adviser to the prime minister. In Sindh there are three groups — one is led by President Mamnoon Hussain who is also lobbying to get a portfolio for PML-N’s Secretary Information Mushahidullah Khan.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, PML-N’s General Secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra is jockeying to get the portfolio of an adviser to the prime minister.

According to sources, Federal Minister for Interprovincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Industries and Production Minister Ghulam Murtaz Jatoi and State Minister Hakeem Baloch have expressed their disappointment over their current portfolios and have often complained against the non-cooperative attitude of their subordinates.

Mushahidullah Khan said he does not know about any unrest within the party.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.

COMMENTS (2)

Mohammed | 9 years ago | Reply

They have paid fortunes to RO`s to get elected so they need a return on their investments.

Zafar | 9 years ago | Reply So much for austerity
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