Cabinet expansion: Old faces with new stint

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari administered oath to eleven new ministers, attempting to win back the support of estranged party parliamentarians.

The size of the cabinet had been cut down dramatically in two phases. In the first phase, it was done due to unavoidable austerity measures while few more ministries were devolved under the 18th Amendment.

In the latest development, five federal ministers and six ministers of state have been inducted to the already beefy federal cabinet.

Following the expansion, the size of the federal cabinet swelled once again, taking the total size from 38 to 49, in addition to the presence of four advisers and five special assistants.

Except one FATA member, all the news ministers that took other belong to PPP. The development occurred amidst reports of fuss among allied parties, none of whom seem satisfied with their share in the cabinet.

In quite an astonishing move, many of the oath-taken ministers were those dropped from the cabinet in the name of rightsizing a year ago.

Five senior members of the PPP – Raja Pervez Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Rana Farooq Saeed and Farzana Raja took oath as federal ministers.

Tasneem Qureshi, who had earlier served as minister of state for interior, and Malik Ammad Khan, a former minister of state for foreign affairs, Samsam Bukhari a former minister of state for information and three others, MNA Raheela Baloch, Senator Abbas Afridi and MNA Malik Azmat, took oath as ministers of state.

However, the notification of the new additional portfolios has not been issued thus far.

In what appeared to be a slap on judicial system, Pervez Ashraf, whose name figured in the list of those the Supreme Court has asked to be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) in connection to the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case, is expected to get a worthwhile portfolio.

Qamar Zaman Kaira is likely to get the portfolio of minister for information and broadcasting, a ministry he had held before it was assigned to the incumbent, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan.

Maula Bux Chandio whose portfolio of federal minister for law and justice was given to former Senate chairman Farooq H Naek is likely to be retained as minister for parliamentary affairs.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=18973

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Apr 14 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.