A temporary arrangement?
The prime minister is required to focus on vital national issues which are enough to consume his entire time and attention. Why should Nawaz Sharif have carried the burden of four extra portfolios was beyond most people’s comprehension. For six months, Sharif faced criticism from the opposition and independent sections of media without showing any inclination to shed this burden. And now suddenly he has handed over two of the portfolios to colleagues who are already holding important ministries. The defence portfolio was transferred just a day before the prime minister was required to appear before the Supreme Court in his capacity as defence minister to explain matters related to 35 undeclared detainees allegedly in army custody. Was the decision to transfer the defence portfolio taken to avoid embarrassment? But that doesn’t explain many other things
Managing the defence and law ministries is no cakewalk. Both deal with sensitive matters and need careful handling. Problems arise every other day and decisions have to be taken promptly. The ministers have to hold consultations and preside over meetings. Anyone already heading another ministry like Khawaja Asif and Pervaiz Rasheed cannot do justice to the defence or law ministries. Meanwhile pressure of work is likely to cause deterioration in their performance vis a vis their original ministries. Both will have to depend on the concerned federal secretary to run the affairs. The bureaucrats rather than politicians would thus call the shots, which is by no means a happy situation. There is already a perception that both the Sharif brothers prefer to rely more on bureaucracy than the party’s own ministers. The PML-N enjoys the support of nearly 200 members in the National Assembly. The prime minister could have appointed new ministers if he had wanted to. Didn’t it have amongst its ranks two party MNAs or senators capable enough to run the law and defence ministries? Wouldn’t the decision cause frustration among the party’s legislators?
Do additional charges imply that this is only a temporary arrangement and that the portfolios will change hands sooner than later? The National Assembly has a number of PML-N veterans whose merits and demerits are known to the leadership. A six month long performance should have been enough to allow Nawaz Sharif to gauge the quality of the newcomers. Instead of continuing to rotate the portfolios every few months a better way would have been to give a chance to the newcomers and allow them sufficient time to showcase their talent.
