Achi news desk-
Although only a month has passed since the new government took over and the federal cabinet has hardly had time to settle in, the government is breaking down a major reorganization to accommodate the coalition partners.
This reorganization is expected to take place shortly after Eidul Fitr.
The reshuffle could come at a critical time for the coalition government, which is facing a tricky situation with a crisis brewing on the horizon after the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suggested launching a protest inside and outside the Senedd after Eidul Fitr.
The ruling party is faced with the choice of carefully balancing the allocation of key cabinet and parliamentary slots to strengthen the fragile coalition and fortify it against opposition agitation to maintain the smooth running of government.
So far, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has easily tackled the difficult task of handing out key cabinet posts thanks to the decision of its main coalition partner, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). . While supporting the PML-N to form a government in the centre, Punjab and Balochistan, the PPP was willing to sit outside the federal government in exchange for key Constitutional and parliamentary posts such as the President’s seat which is the Co-Chairman of the PPP, Asif Ali, on her. Zardari was elected last month. They also banked on the support of PML-N in the recently held Senate elections.
This provided more room for the PML-N to distribute ministries among the coalition partners while keeping the federal cabinet relatively small.
It is pertinent to note that the federal cabinet under the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) swelled to a maximum of 74 members. In comparison, the current cabinet has 19 members, including 18 federal ministers, a minister of state, and a single special assistant. Of these, only 12 are members of the PML-N.
The PML-N curveball set to award two key ministries to non-parliamentarians (at least initially), with Mohsin Naqvi taking the all-important interior ministry and Muhammad Aurangzeb getting the critical finance and revenue portfolios, a marker for allied parties on the address. which the ruling coalition would adopt.
Although the PPP remains out of the federal cabinet, the rest of the PML-N’s allies do not share the same sentiment and have been demanding a bigger stake in the federal cabinet apart from parliamentary positions such as the chairmanship of standing committees in the National Assembly.
One of these parties is the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P). The MQM-P, the third largest political party in the coalition government, reluctantly extended support to the PML-N and the PPP in the prime ministerial and presidential elections. His demands for at least two ministries – including his favorite Information Technology ministry – in the federal cabinet were jointly defeated by the PPP and the PML-N. Instead, a sword hung over the fate of Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who is essentially aligned with the MQM-P.
The MQM-P had a public spat with the PML-N and the PPP. Leaked audio of their leaders, including former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal and Tessori, expressed their disappointment at being offered much less than their expectations and even faced the possibility of being frozen out of the cabinet altogether completely
But now, the MQM-P is hoping to get additional ministries after the Eidul Fitr holiday. These portfolios could include the Ministry of Health and some other portfolios. Tessori’s position could also be reinforced.
Senior parliamentarians shared that the PML-N elsewhere may shake up the federal cabinet composition to accommodate allies of partners in Balochistan.
Requesting not to be named as they were not authorized to share the information at this time, they said that the distribution of several portfolios would be decided after the Eid holidays.
They said the ruling party hopes to accommodate all its allies by handing out ministerial portfolios. Allies will also be accommodated by accepting the chairs of some standing committees in the lower house of parliament.
The PPP has been pushing the PML-N to award it the chairmanships of some important standing committees since they decided to give up ministries at the centre.
Members of the ruling party and political experts were reminded that the PML-N is in no position to upset any of its coalition partners. In contrast, all the parties in the rainbow coalition will have to jointly face the wrath of PTI inside and outside parliament.
