PML-N, PPP both deny Naqvi is ‘their man’

LAHORE:

Former caretaker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi will be sworn in as the interior minister on Monday (today) when the new federal cabinet members will be administered their oath of office, a source within the PPP confirmed.

A senior PML-N leader, who is en route to becoming a federal minister, also indicated that the oath-taking ceremony was expected on Monday.

A close aide of Naqvi also corroborated that the oath-taking ceremony was being held on Monday at around 3pm when the ex-interim CM would be sworn in as the interior minister.

A PPP leader said Naqvi was being sworn in as the interior minister but this did not mean that his party was effectively becoming part of the cabinet.

He continued that the PPP’s position was very clear about joining the cabinet.

The PPP leader maintained that Naqvi was “Rawalpindi’s man”, who would become the interior minister with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s blessings.

Naqvi extended all kinds of favours to the PML-N but not to the PPP’s provincial chapter – so much so that it had complained to the party leadership of ex-interim CM’s “discriminatory” attitude towards them.

The PPP leader claimed that according to his information, Naqvi was not being appointed as a special assistant or adviser to the PM.

He continued that the ex-interim Punjab CM would take up his assignment under Section 91(9) of the Constitution that permitted a minister to function without being a member of parliament.

He claimed that the PPP, whose co-chairperson was elected as the president of the country just a day earlier, did not even have the numbers to make a senator on its own.

He said the PML-N would support Naqvi during the Senate elections as without its backing, the former Punjab caretaker minister could not become a senator..

A senior PML-N leader, who had on Saturday termed Naqvi’s accession to the interior ministry an unfortunate development, said the ex-interim Punjab CM was not his party’s man.

He said his party would welcome a PPP leader in the cabinet. He continued that with Naqvi, the PPP was formally becoming a part of the cabinet.

When asked about his views that he had expressed a day earlier, the PML-N leader said indeed it would be unfortunate for this government to have Naqvi as the interior minister. However, he continued but more importantly, it was for Naqvi to think that with him becoming the interior minister, how much credibility would left of the election process that he oversaw as a caretaker CM.

When asked why the PML-N was making Naqvi the interior minister if it believed it was not in the interest of democracy, he replied that this was a coalition government and his party had to honour its coalition partners’ choice. He claimed that Naqvi was the PPP’s choice.

To the query about Naqvi being the pick of the ‘powerful circles’ for this slot, he laughed and said he would stick to him being the PPP’s choice.

To the question if the PPP lacked the numbers to have Naqvi elected as a senator, the PML-N leader said they were in a coalition arrangement.

“If the PPP asks us for support to make him [Naqvi] a senator, we [PML-N] will have to consider it.”
To another query, the PML-N leader said Ishaq Dar was happy with being the foreign minister as far as his knowledge was concerned.

He refuted the rumours of Dar being made the deputy premier.

He continued that total size of the cabinet would be limited to 18 members.

Naqvi’s close aide denied that the former caretaker CM was seeking anyone’s support for the Senate elections. He claimed that Naqvi would become a senator with the support of independent lawmakers. When reminded that these lawmakers were no longer independent after the general elections, he replied that all the details could not be shared at this stage.

When PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira was told that a PML-N leader had claimed that Naqvi was his party’s man in cabinet, he said the PPP had categorically decided not to become a part of this cabinet.