Govt delays ‘rightsizing’ of federal cabinet

Several PPP core committee members warned of ‘serious backlash’.

ISLAMABAD: The government, in the face of stiff resistance from within the party and allies, is learnt to have delayed a planned cut in the size of the federal cabinet, which it intends to trim to a final size of just 16 members.

As the race for retaining ministerial slots among key contenders intensified, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party decided that a final decision will rest with President Asif Ali Zardari.

The government is facing pressure not only domestically, but also from international donors, to substantially reduce expenditures and substantially reduce the number of ministries and ministers.

The government is likely to keep the cabinet to a maximum size of around 42 members as written in the 18th Amendment, but with economic indicators showing a downward trend, it has pledged international lending agencies that it was going for one of the slimmest cabinets in the country’s recent history.

Sources said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani wanted to reduce the cabinet size to just 15-16 members, adding that this plan has created anxiety among cabinet members and allied parties, who fear a proportional cut in their share.

The proposed new cabinet, sources said, includes Hafeez Sheikh, Amin Fahim, Syed Khurshid Shah and Naveed Qamar from Sindh, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ahmed Mukhtar, Babar Awan, Rehman Malik, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Raja Parvez Ashraf from Punjab. They agreed that Ayatullah Durani and Asma Arbab Alamgir might be two ministers from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Hina Rabani Khar is among strong candidates who can be elevated as federal minister while one of the advisers, Ghazanfar Gul, can also retain his post.

Under this plan coalition allies ANP, PML-F and Fata lawmakers would be given one cabinet post each, while the fate of MQM is yet to be decided.

Strong probables among allies likely to retain ministries included Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Haji Khuda Baksh, the sources added.  The plan was deliberated in detail at the PPP core committee meeting on Tuesday night.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of giving some additional portfolios to ministers whose performance remained satisfactory.

President Zardari said that instead of an abrupt cut, the size of the cabinet would be gradually reduced.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2011.