Lobbying season: PML-N close to finalising cabinet

Party groups go head-to-head in race for prime portfolios.

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is in the process of finalising a list of its cabinet members as well as various other portfolios.

The Sharif brothers are dealing with various lobbies within the party to decide who gets which cabinet slot.

According to sources, the party has set a benchmark for various ministries: for the post of Speaker of the House, a seasoned politician with deep knowledge on how the business of the house is conducted would be considered; to oversee the energy crisis, the minister should be someone with an engineering background, while the next interior minister should have the experience of dealing with law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the party has made it mandatory for the next finance minister to be an accountant and/or an economist. It has also been decided that the information minister should have experience in the media, while approval from ‘certain quarters’ would be required for the foreign minister.

Matching the men to the ministries

Various lobbies, comprising senior party officials and Baloch nationalists, are pushing for Lt General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch to get the portfolio of interior ministry because of his experience as the Balochistan corps commander and Sindh DG Rangers.



The PML-N has also shortlisted Baloch’s name for the post of National Assembly speaker along with PkMAP’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai. However, Qadir is more interested in the interior ministry portfolio.

The party has shortlisted two names for the Water and Power Ministry – Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as both have an engineering background.

Sartaj Aziz is lobbying for the portfolio of foreign minister, but he is neither a Senator nor a member of the National Assembly.

Ahsan Iqbal is said to have categorically refused to accept the portfolio of information minister, leaving Pervez Rashid as the lone candidate. Interestingly, Nawaz wants to keep the defence ministry portfolio with himself.

Clash of titans

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who contested elections from two National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats, is no longer in a strong position as compared to his rival group within the PML-N, led by Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Nisar contested two provincial assembly seats despite being advised by the party not to do so, a move which has even irked Shahbaz Sharif, who is known to be a close friend of his.

Nisar is nevertheless likely to be given the Petroleum, Oil and Gas portfolio.

Asif, on the other hand, is lobbying to get a good portfolio not only for himself but also for his aide Khawaja Saad Rafique from Lahore.

Engineer Khurram Dastgir will be given the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, while Baleeghul Rehman will be accommodated from Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, two candidates – General (retd) Abdul Qayyum and General (retd) Ziauddin Butt – are lobbying for the post of national security adviser.

Ishaq Dar, who is currently the leader of the opposition in Senate, will be elevated as the finance minister. Raja Zafarul Haq is in the running to take his place in Senate.

Meanwhile, if Achakzai is appointed as the NA speaker, Sumaira Malik will be given the slot of deputy speaker.

US ambassador

Punjab caretaker chief minister Najam Sethi has emerged as a hot candidate for the coveted post.

Governorships

PML-N’s General Secretary Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and Mehtab Khan Abbasi are in the race for the portfolio of K-P governor, while PML-N’s Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan and PML-N’s Sindh President Syed Ghous Ali Shah are contenders for the Sindh governorship.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.