Lean K-P cabinet set to form soon

It will only include ministers to maintain its compact size

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province is poised to witness the establishment of its caretaker cabinet in the upcoming forty-eight hours.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that the finalization process for selecting potential cabinet members has entered its conclusive phase. Once decisions are reached, the designated caretaker ministers will be sworn into office.

In a notable departure from past practices, this time the focus lies on appointing cabinet members without affiliations to any political party, a move aimed at sidestepping potential controversies.

An official disclosed, “It is likely that only 15 ministers will be included in the cabinet, sourced from retired technocrats and bureaucrats, who possess no direct involvement in active politics.” This approach also aims to maintain a leaner cabinet size and minimize government expenditures, with no special assistants or advisors being inducted.

This measure comes against the backdrop of a prior cabinet that had swelled to 27 members, resulting in two removals and leaving critics to question its considerable size.

Background

The previous K-P cabinet opted for a collective resignation on August 10, as Interim Chief Minister Azam Khan urged the move amidst allegations of political engagement by its members. The caretaker cabinet, comprising 25 members encompassing ministers, advisors, and special assistants, had been constituted in early 2023 following the dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Caretaker Information Minister Feroze Jamal Kakakhel confirmed that Chief Minister Azam Khan convened a meeting with cabinet members, wherein he solicited their resignations. Out of the 25, 19 ministers promptly submitted their resignations to the chief minister, while others, who were absent from the meeting, pledged to follow suit. One member sought additional time for consultation.

Kakakhel elaborated that the submitted resignations would be presented to Governor Haji Ghulam Ali for ratification on the ensuing Friday, after which the changes would be formally enacted. The imminent formation of a new cabinet is expected within a matter of days.

Throughout its tenure, the caretaker setup encountered several reconfigurations, with allegations of both political involvement and instances of alleged corruption and inefficiency casting a shadow. Amid such dynamics, the cabinet members found themselves under consistent scrutiny, often contending with claims of being linked to political entities or functioning as financial patrons, colloquially termed “the ATMs,” of political parties.

The series of reshuffles saw Khushdil Khan Malik being the first to exit due to non-compliance with retirement conditions. Subsequently, Adnan Jalil was dismissed owing to tensions between the Awami National Party (ANP), which he was affiliated with, and the governor’s office. Shahid Khattak, once the transport minister, met a similar fate for veering into political activities.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2023.