Lahore, Gujranwala get lion’s share in federal cabinet

The federal cabinet sworn in the other day is conspicuous for being heavily drawn from two divisions of Punjab, ignoring most of the remaining divisions much to the discomfort of party leaders from these neglected areas.
A look at the federal cabinet shows that most federal ministers have been inducted from Gujranwala and Lahore divisions. Gujranwala received the heaviest representation in the cabinet.
Figures like Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Zahid Hamid, Khurram Dastgir, Usman Ibrahim, Barjees Tahir, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Rana Tanvir, Ishaq Dar and Pervez Rasheed are all either from Gujranwala or Lahore divisions.
“A total of nine ministers are from Gujranwala while about six are from Lahore,” commented a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) source.
The divisions completely ignored include Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Sarghoda and Faisalabad, as far as federal ministers are concerned.
Obviously, there is a lot of cribbing among MNAs and heavyweights who were overlooked for the cabinet, insiders disclosed. They claim party leaders could not strike a demographic balance in formation of the federal cabinet.
Some federal minister would be under the spotlight for the manner in which they handle their ministries.
Saad Rafiq seems to be a part of that league and his performance would be watched from day one.
“It will be interesting to see what expertise he has in running a department like railways and whether he has any plans to give life to this dead national entity,” said a senior PML-N leader.
Some experts did not find Nisar Ali Khan completely fit for the ministry of interior. “His temperament is different. He is a reserved type of a person, and an aloof character who is hardly available to media and others,” said a senior politician.
The new interior minister requires a lot of mobility and monitoring to do justice to his new assignment. Rehman Malik, being a test case, was seen everywhere in the discharge of his duties. Presence of the interior minister where required reflects the government’s concern and helps in mobilising and marshaling resources available.
It will be interesting to observe whether Nisar brings a fresh approach to the ministry in dealing with law and order.
Some analysts find ministers like Barjees Tahir and Kamran Michael among the ordinary lot. “They have difficulty communicating with other people,” said a party insider.
The choice of Sikandar Bosan from Multan, who finds his place in the cabinet as a result of some last-minute deliberations, is considered to be a good political move.
Political circles believe it is a move to counter heavyweights like Yousaf Raza Gilani, Javed Hashmi and Shah Mahmnood Quereshi in the south Punjab’s urban center. This opportunity will give Bosan a chance to develop PML-N’s constituency in Multan.