Punjab cabinet strength soars to 44 members
The size of the Punjab cabinet has reached 44 members, including 37 ministers, three advisers and four special assistants, the swearing in of two new ministers.
Lahore district has the highest representation in the provincial cabinet with five ministers, while Faisalabad is second with four ministers.
However, more than 20 members of the cabinet are on a “watch list” of the prime minister and chief minister for their unsatisfactory performance during the past two and a half years, according to sources. Some of the inactive members of the cabinet are reportedly known in government circles as “sleeping ministers”, the sources said.
Mian Khayal Castro has been included in the cabinet to represent Faisalabad’s business community.
He joined the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2011 and has been an active party leader ever since. He tepryedly has good relations with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar.
The sources said the decision to make Yawar Abbas Bukhari a minister was taken several months ago.
He is senior politician and a cousin of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close associate and Special Assistant for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari. Sources close to both the cousins deny earlier reports of family tensions between them.
A few months ago, Yawar Bukhari’s name also surfaced during discussions about the possibility of replacing the chief minister.
Yawar Bukhari also has close family ties with Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Law Minister Raja Basharat.
The notification of the departments of both the new ministers is likely to be issued soon.
At present, the ministers of other departments have the additional charge of the departments of home, social welfare, local government and cooperatives.
According to government and PTI sources, there are at least 20 members of the Punjab cabinet whose performance is a matter of concern for the prime minister and chief minister but they cannot be replaced because of the political situation.
The sources said the cabinet members whose performance is being reviewed include Revenue Minister Malik Mohammad Anwar, Labour Minister Ansar Majeed, Communications Minister Sardar Asif Nikai, Prosecution Minister Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, Literacy Minister Raja Rashid Hafeez, Minister for Special Education Mohammad Akhlaq, Environment Minister Mohammad Rizwan, Minister for Minerals Hafiz Yasir, CM’s Inspection Team Minister Mohammad Ajmal, Livestock Minister Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak, Sports Minister Taimur Bhatti, Minister for Population Welfare Hashim Dogar, Minister for Zakat Shaukat Lalika, Minister for Minorities Affairs Ijaz Augustine and Minister for Women Development Ashfa Riaz.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2020.