Amir Muqam quits federal cabinet

Muqam, who is also president of PML-Q’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa chapter, submitted his resignation to party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who hasn’t yet accepted it.

After Muqam took oath as federal minister, he was given the portfolio of minister for production, which he never accepted and told his party leadership to change it and also uncover the ‘terms and conditions’ of the deal with the PPP within a week.

“I requested the party leadership to take all the members of the party’s Central Executive Committee into confidence about the deal. But the party high-ups did not honour the commitment,” he told the media.


Muqam said he took the decision because party workers from his province wanted to know the facts behind the PPP-PML-Q agreement, adding that he would not accept any ministry until he is given a copy of the agreement between the two parties.

However, talking to the media, party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that Muqam’s resignation is an internal matter of the party. He said that he would meet Muqam and address his reservations. Hussain was hopeful that Muqam would review his decision and rejoin the cabinet.

Earlier, another senior PML-Q leader Riaz Hussain Pirzada also acted in a similar manner, refusing to accept the portfolio of ministry of minority affairs. He was later given the ministry of health.

The PML-Q suffered internally after it decided to join the government two weeks ago. Some party senators, who were considered to be strong supporters of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, also defected. They even announced they would sit on the opposition benches and extended their support to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Senator Ishaq Dar for the slot of opposition leader in the upper house of parliament.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2011.