PPP expects early cabinet expansion

LAHORE:

The provincial cabinet will be expanded and portfolios will be allotted to its members in the coming week, Provincial Minister Ali Haider Gillani has said.

The PPP leader told The Express Tribune that the names of those to be included in the cabinet had been finalised.

Provincial Minister Ata Tarar also said the cabinet expansion would be completed in the coming few days, but added that the portfolios would be allotted gradually.

Similar claims had been made after former president Asif Ali Zardari met Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz earlier this month, but they did not materialise.

Ali Gillani said the PPP would get five ministries, as committed earlier. The portfolios they are expected to get are school education, irrigation, energy, revenue and planning and development.

He said a senior PML-N politician was interested in the communications and works ministry, which was why the decision had been left it for the CM.

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He said that as per his knowledge the cabinet expansion was expected to be completed by June 28.

He also said some cabinet seats might be withheld till the provincial assembly by- elections scheduled next month so that the winning PML-N MPAs could be accommodated.

A senior PPP leader blamed PML-N's disinclination towards power sharing for a delay in bringing his party fully onboard. He claimed that PML-N leaders had already taken up their ministerial responsibilities informally. Only the PPP had been kept out of power.

He said the provincial leadership had held out an assurance that the cabinet would be expanded after the budget and portfolios would be announced. "Hopefully they will stick to their assurance."

A PML-N leader, on the other hand, said tge completion of the cabinet would take another month. He said the existing ministers were expected to get portfolios by the end of this month or start of next month, but those who would be inducted into the cabinet might get their portfolios gradually. He said no ministry had thus far been assigned to any cabinet member.

Tarar has only been given the home minister's portfolio for assembly business of the 41st session. He is not the home minister as yet, although he is most likely to get the ministry.

Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz who decried the previous governor of Punjab for not administering oath to ministers has yet to complete his cabinet and to assign a ministerial portfolio to any of them despite having a governor from his party for the past three weeks.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2022.