In limbo: JUI-F ministers may win portfolios after 2-month wait

Govt, party have reached agreement: JUI-F spokesperson.

ISLAMABAD:

In the race to snap up ministry portfolios, two JUI-F members are inching closer to the finish line, two months after taking oath as members of the federal cabinet. Party spokesperson Jan Achakzai told The Express Tribune that the announcement will be made ‘within days’ and notifications from two ministries formally issued.

Three ministers from the coalition partners including Senator Abbas Khan Afridi representing the FATA parliamentarians and two JUI-F lawmakers Senator Ghafoor Haideri and former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani took oath as ministers on January 16, 2014. While Afridi was appointed to the ministry of textile industry, JUI-F ministers have awaited word on their responsibilities.



“Maulana Fazlur-Rehman held a meeting with Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif last week in Lahore and discussed the issue of portfolios,” Achakzai said. He refuted rumours that there was a deadlock over the selection of ministries, saying the process had been delayed by the CM’s schedule of engagements. “It has already been agreed between the two sides that the JUI-F may choose one ministry and the government will choose the other,” he said.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervez Rashid, spokesperson for the federal government, confirmed the development. He said a notification will be issued in a few days, adding that the prime minister will travel to Islamabad next week and make a decision in the matter. He said the JUI-F leadership has indicated their choice of ministries, but refused to divulge further details. Sources, however, say the JUI-F has strong-armed the government into allocating the ministry of housing and works to the party.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2014.