Weighed down: PM has a lot of catching up to do

Crucial meetings expected on administrative, political and diplomatic matters

ISLAMABAD: When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to the country from Britain where he underwent successful open-heart surgery, he will have to contend with several challenges — both at office and on the political front.

He is expected to chair crucial meetings on important administrative, political and diplomatic matters -- including a federal cabinet meeting, consultations with his close advisers to counter the opposition on the Panama leaks, reviewing the PML-N’s election campaign for Azad Jammu and Kashmir polls and meeting of Pakistani diplomats deputed abroad, official sources shared with The Express Tribune.



In addition, scores of official files -- all seeking the prime minister’s approval on one issue or the other -- will be placed before him. “These files are mostly administrative in nature and require the premier’s nod,” an official at the PM’s secretariat said on the condition of anonymity.

Approvals awaiting his decisions mostly concern budgetary matters following the start of the new financial year on July 1, he added.

It is still unclear whether the prime minister would officially convene the federal cabinet or unofficially discuss related issues with his confidantes, including federal ministers and advisers.

The upcoming cabinet meeting holds more significance in view of the current circumstances. The possibility of an unofficial meeting remains on the cards against the backdrop of the government’s intended backdoor discussions with the opposition leadership in a bid to defuse tension on the Panama leaks.

Serious differences among cabinet colleagues make another explanatory factor for an unannounced cabinet meet. Prior to leaving for London, Nawaz delegated his authority to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to run the government. This did not go down well with other federal ministers such as Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Ahsan Iqbal, who refused to be part of the official meetings Dar chaired vis-à-vis the budget for FY2016-17. Cognisant of the situation, the prime minister may call an unofficial cabinet meeting in a bid to divert media attention on the matter, the sources said.

Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said the premier would be part of important engagements upon landing back home, without getting into the specifics.



“There are a lot of important issues that demand the prime minister’s attention that would be duly looked into following his return,” he told The Express Tribune. Asked if a formal cabinet meeting was to take place immediately after the prime minister’s return, the senator said: “The prime minister takes advice from his close associates on related matters of governance, administration, politics and other issues. It is a normal practice and there is nothing unusual about it. Anything in this regard would be made public once finalised.”

Moreover, the scheduled general elections in AJK on July 21 will also stay high on the premier’s agenda. The electoral strategy of the ruling PML-N is likely to be formulated while Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Dr Asif Kirmani, who has been assigned to run the PML-N’s election campaign for the polls, would brief the premier on related issues.

The upcoming meeting of Pakistani diplomats deputed abroad, to be chaired by Sharif, is the only confirmed official event so far.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid informed the media that the prime minister would land back home after Eid and chair the diplomats’ meeting to review the foreign policy.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2016.