ISLAMABAD – The in-house consultations with coalition partners of the PPP government for formation of the new federal cabinet continued on Saturday with the short listing of candidates for the first batch of appointments. An insider told Pakistan Today that “who will be who” was the current topic of discussion in the power corridors, adding that the process would be completed by Wednesday.
The source said the government was working on the merger of some of the divisions of ministries to shrink the size of its cabinet and it was likely that the Ministry of Water and Power and the Ministry of Petroleum might be merged under a new name – the Ministry of Energy – with Syed Naveed Qamar as the minister.
Moreover, the source added that the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Livestock could also be made divisions of the Ministry of Agriculture with Nazar Muhammad Gondal as the minister. It was also being considered whether or not to merge the Ministry of Industries with the Ministry of Commerce with Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani as the minister, the source said, adding that Amin Fahim and Pervaiz Ashraf could be shown the door in case the proposals were accepted.
The president told the PPP central executive committee meeting on Friday that he had asked the prime minister to keep the new cabinet ‘lean and mean’ and the new ministers should be people of integrity, however, it would be nothing short of a challenge for the ruling party to bring such people to the frontline.
It remains to be seen from where the PPP finds an efficient and competent team of people of good repute. Questions have time and again been raised about the character and integrity of Rehman Malik, Babar Awan and Pervaiz Ashraf. Though nothing has yet been proved against them in any court of law, the question remains: Will the prime minister again include them in his cabinet?
Insiders say there was precedence in place that the PML-N had welcomed the appointment of Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa who had been blamed for taking bribes from various clients in the name of judges of the superior courts, while he was also held responsible in creating a mess in the Ministry of Information Technology.
“Now if the opposition can welcome his appointment, why would they oppose the naming of Babar Awan, Rehman Malik and Pervaiz Ashraf when nothing has been proved against them,” the source said.
