Portfolio politics: Too many men, not enough ministries
PPP moves to satiate burgeoning coalition government.
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:
As the demand for ministerial seats in Sindh outnumbers the supply, the PPP is scrambling to appease all parties of a massive coalition government.
The President House was a hub of planning and politicking on Saturday, as alongside discussions on the implementation of the Supreme Court’s rulings on Karachi’s law and order, the governor and chief minister of Sindh also attended meetings on the divisions of ministries in Sindh.
According to sources, President Zardari wants the disputes to be settled through consultation with his coalition partners. After the hard stance taken by the PML-Functional (PML-F), the president has turned down the option of handing back to recently returned Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) the ministries it previously held, the sources claim.
However, the coalition parties are concerned – both with they have, and what they could stand to lose.
After PML-Q leaders met Zardari a few days ago, senior PPP leader and Sindh minister Agha Siraj Khan Durrani met PML-Q chiefs Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudry Pervaiz Elahi on Saturday.
The topic of discussion was the PML-Q’s reservations over their party ministers in both the centre and Sindh. Sources told The Express Tribune that Durrani arrived in town straight from Karachi to meet the Chaudhrys and talk about the PML-Q’s portfolios and the make-up of the Sindh government.
The move comes on the back of the MQM’s reclamation of five ministries in Sindh, having rejoined the government. The MQM, it is being reported, wants the ministries that it lost after quitting the government. The ministries had been given to the PML-F and the PML-Q.
Despite limited representation in the Sindh Assembly, the PML-Q has four members in the Sindh cabinet. The party shifted from the opposition benches to the treasury in the Sindh Assembly when its members in the National Assembly joined the PPP-led coalition government in June 2011.
Sources said that Durrani told the Chaudhrys that after the MQM’s decision to rejoin the PPP-led coalition government, the portfolios which the PML-Q’s ministers currently have in the Sindh government might be reshuffled. The sources also said that the Chaudhrys discussed the Sindh chief minister’s performance, expressing disappointment.
The sources said that Durrani also discussed the press conference of PML-F leader Pir Pagara, who threatened to leave the coalition in Sindh if his party members’ ministerial portfolios were taken away. Pagara was in a similarly combative mood on Saturday, saying that he would not tolerate any more shuffling.
The PML-Q’s Central Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha said that Durrani’s status in Sindh politics is very strong and that he enjoys a close relationship with the president. He said that Durrani’s meeting with the Chaudhrys was a follow-up to Zardari’s meeting. Asked if Durrani might replace Shah as chief minister, Agha said that change was possible but he had no further information.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2011.
As the demand for ministerial seats in Sindh outnumbers the supply, the PPP is scrambling to appease all parties of a massive coalition government.
The President House was a hub of planning and politicking on Saturday, as alongside discussions on the implementation of the Supreme Court’s rulings on Karachi’s law and order, the governor and chief minister of Sindh also attended meetings on the divisions of ministries in Sindh.
According to sources, President Zardari wants the disputes to be settled through consultation with his coalition partners. After the hard stance taken by the PML-Functional (PML-F), the president has turned down the option of handing back to recently returned Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) the ministries it previously held, the sources claim.
However, the coalition parties are concerned – both with they have, and what they could stand to lose.
After PML-Q leaders met Zardari a few days ago, senior PPP leader and Sindh minister Agha Siraj Khan Durrani met PML-Q chiefs Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudry Pervaiz Elahi on Saturday.
The topic of discussion was the PML-Q’s reservations over their party ministers in both the centre and Sindh. Sources told The Express Tribune that Durrani arrived in town straight from Karachi to meet the Chaudhrys and talk about the PML-Q’s portfolios and the make-up of the Sindh government.
The move comes on the back of the MQM’s reclamation of five ministries in Sindh, having rejoined the government. The MQM, it is being reported, wants the ministries that it lost after quitting the government. The ministries had been given to the PML-F and the PML-Q.
Despite limited representation in the Sindh Assembly, the PML-Q has four members in the Sindh cabinet. The party shifted from the opposition benches to the treasury in the Sindh Assembly when its members in the National Assembly joined the PPP-led coalition government in June 2011.
Sources said that Durrani told the Chaudhrys that after the MQM’s decision to rejoin the PPP-led coalition government, the portfolios which the PML-Q’s ministers currently have in the Sindh government might be reshuffled. The sources also said that the Chaudhrys discussed the Sindh chief minister’s performance, expressing disappointment.
The sources said that Durrani also discussed the press conference of PML-F leader Pir Pagara, who threatened to leave the coalition in Sindh if his party members’ ministerial portfolios were taken away. Pagara was in a similarly combative mood on Saturday, saying that he would not tolerate any more shuffling.
The PML-Q’s Central Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha said that Durrani’s status in Sindh politics is very strong and that he enjoys a close relationship with the president. He said that Durrani’s meeting with the Chaudhrys was a follow-up to Zardari’s meeting. Asked if Durrani might replace Shah as chief minister, Agha said that change was possible but he had no further information.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2011.