New, but old

PM to face insurmountable challenges as opposition is unrelenting and dark shadows of ballot tampering hovering over

A 19-member federal cabinet is at the helm of affairs to steer a country mired in economic recession and political instability. None of the nominees are new to power dispensation, and their names are from the who’s who list of the previous, PDM1 government. The only noticeable addition is the former HBL chief, Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is certain to take on as finance minister. The naming of Ishaq Dar as would-be foreign minister has raised many eyebrows, as his Senate tenure stands lapsed, but he has been asked to continue in office. Likewise, former caretaker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi’s induction into the Shehbaz Sharif’s flanks as interior minister confirms the speculations that there is enough to read between the lines as the PML-N has been put on the power saddle.

The inclusion of Ahad Cheema, who too was part of the caretaker set-up and under trial for corruption charges, will surely need some explanation. Likewise, the selection of Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Amir Muqam, Chaudhry Salik, Awais Leghari, Musadik Malik and Attaullah Tarar is tantamount to putting old wine in new bottles, and solicits a brief as to how different will be their ministries’ policy prescription. MQM’s Khalid Maqbool and IPP’s Aleem Khan are entrants from the allies’ bloc, cementing the impression that more from their rank and file will sooner than later be on their way to the cabinet.

The exclusion of PPP will keep the coalition on tenterhooks, especially as the beleaguered PML-N leadership goes on to decide on matters of life and death in a sinking economy, and on indispensable reforms. With Asif Ali Zardari enthroned in the Presidency, the PPP is in a win-win situation. As if in a scene from Sherlock Holmes, the PPP has tactfully sought a pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, thus, has insurmountable challenges to face as the opposition is unrelenting and the dark shadows of ballot tampering hovering over its wafer-thin majority are unlikely to wither away.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2024.

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