LAHORE – Punjab Governor Latif Khosa on Monday signed the summary sent by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the ouster of PPP ministers from the Punjab cabinet. With signatures on the advice, the role of the PPP ministers and 13 parliamentary secretaries in the Punjab government has ended, and the new cabinet is all set to have fresh faces.
Sources in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) claimed that the announcement regarding the new cabinet would be made on Thursday. They said the discussion over the formation of the new Punjab cabinet among the PML-N leaders has intensified and race among the PML-N, the PML-F, the MMA and the Unification Bloc for inclusion in the cabinet is on. However, the final decision would be made after consultation with party chief Nawaz Sharif, they added.
The Punjab governor signed the summary after consulting PPP Co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari. Shahbaz had six PPP ministers – Raja Riaz, Ashraf Sohna, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Haji Ishaq, Dr Tanvirul Islam, Farooq Yousaf Ghurki and Neelam Jabbar – in his cabinet, while 13 parliamentary secretaries from former PML-N coalition partner had been accommodated in the government.
The 13 were Raja Tariq Kiani, Sardar Kamil Gujar, Dr Muhammad Akhtar Malik, Nishat Ahmed Khan Daha, Shahzad Saeed Cheema, Malik Nosher Khan Anjum Lungerial, Ch Shaukat Mahmood Basra, Muhammad Aslam, Engineer Javaid Akbar Dhilloon, Nargis Faiz Malik, Saghira Islam, Azma Zahid Bukhari and Faiza Malik. On February 26, the Punjab chief minister had notified the sacking of 13 parliamentary secretaries by using his administrative powers.
