Summary ready to reconstitute cabinet bodies

PM expected to formalise a strategy today in light of IHC verdict

ISLAMABAD:

The Cabinet Division will request Prime Minister Imran Khan to reconstitute four committees of the federal cabinet headed by Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in compliance with a judgment of the Islamabad High Court.

The court has recently ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government committees and set aside a notification through which the premier had reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) headed by Shaikh.

The Cabinet Division, which is the custodian of the official business of the federal cabinet, has prepared a summary for the PM’s Office for the reconstitution of the four committees, according to government sources.

The PM is being requested to suitably reconstitute the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP), Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, Cabinet Committee on State-owned Enterprises (CCSOEs) and the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC), the sources added.

The Cabinet Division might not suggest the names for the replacements and instead leave the decision to the prime minister.

The premier is expected to formalise a strategy on Thursday (today) to deal with the situation.

Due to lack of clarity, the Cabinet Division has again postponed a scheduled meeting of the ECC for the second time in as many days, suggesting that the government is willing to abide by the court’s decision.

The federal government has not yet announced that it would challenge the IHC verdict. Information Minister Shibli Faraz was not available for comments.

Similar petitions are also pending before the Peshawar High Court and the Lahore High Court, challenging the appointment of advisers to key positions.

Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry welcomed the IHC judgment, terming it “an important step towards representative government of the people”.

“The IHC decision is an effort towards striking a balance of power between the elected and non-elected members of the cabinet,” he said.

The federal cabinet comprises 51 members, including 21 non-elected advisers (five) and special assistants (16)

If the premier decides to reconstitute the four economic committees in light of IHC judgment and the Cabinet Division’s summary, it will have direct implications for the finance adviser.

The economic policymaking is being carried out at the ECC level and even the authority to grant additional budget during the course of the fiscal year rests with the ECC and the federal cabinet.

The IHC decision has affected Shaikh, Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood, Institutional Reforms Adviser Dr Ishrat Husain and special assistants Nadeem Baber, Tabish Gauhar and Dr Waqar Masood as all of them hold important portfolios.

It is not immediately clear as to whether Shaikh will continue to serve as the finance adviser or not.

The sources said the prime minister had three options. He can appoint Shaikh as the finance minister for a maximum of six months, similar to how the previous PML-N government had appointed Dr Miftah Ismail to the post.

PM Imran can also give Shaikh a Senate ticket in the coming March elections. The third option is to replace Shaikh with an elected member and the names of Asad Umar, the former finance minister, and Hammad Azhar, the industries minister, are making rounds in the capital.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had also ruled in August this year that unelected advisers and special assistants to the prime minister could not exercise executive or administrative powers in the functioning of the government or speak on its behalf.