ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians from the ruling alliance questioned on Tuesday Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over his choice of new cabinet members, saying that many re-inducted ministers who were facing corruption charges while some ministers who had performed well were overlooked.
Gilani had convened the meeting to discuss the latest domestic political situation.
“Some members of the PPP and their allied parties expressed their reservations over the re-induction of some ministers against whom there are charges of corruption while others with a transparent track record were left out,” a participant of the meeting told The Express Tribune. The bickering started last month when the prime minister ‘rightsized’ his cabinet.
National Assembly and Senate members of the PPP, ANP, Fata, PML-F and MQM participated in the meeting.
Although the MQM has not yet joined the cabinet after it parted ways in January 2011, it has started attending meetings of the ruling coalition’s parliamentary party.
When some parliamentarians complained that the ministers were ignoring them, the prime minister directed his cabinet members to tackle their issues on a priority basis, sources said, adding he urged the ministers to accommodate their fellow parliamentarians.
ANP and Fata members exchanged harsh words when Bushra Gahor of the ANP said the lawless tribal region should be given under the administrative control of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Fata members, including Hameedullah Jan Afridi, opposed the idea, sources added.
Urging fellow politicians to renounce political confrontation, egotism and stubbornness, Prime Minister Gilani said that all decisions should be made in the greater national interest, according to a press statement issued after the meeting. He said the PPP government does not believe in political confrontation and desires to resolve issues via consultations.
Reminding everyone of the grave challenges confronting the country, Gilani said problems were of such magnitude that no single party can single-handedly address them.
Enumerating unprecedented political and economic challenges confronted by the government during its three-year tenure,the prime minister said that the government realised people’s problems and wanted to ease their difficulties.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2011.
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