March 29, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 25, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 28: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali is set to expand his cabinet in the first week of April, informed sources told Dawn on Thursday. “It could even be delayed till the holding of the joint session of parliament which is expected to be summoned soon after the current Senate session concludes its debate on Iraq”, sources said.

About a dozen more ministers and a few ministers of state, majority of them from senate, are expected to be inducted in the 25-member federal cabinet.

A source close to the prime minister claimed that a reshuffle in the cabinet had also become inevitable as some of the new ministers will be replaced by the old faces and those portfolios assigned in addition to the originally allotted ministries will also be taken over by the new comers.

Mr Jamali who is facing stiff pressures from within the party for accommodation of more partymen in his cabinet against the limited slots available will have to consider the areas which were given or have little representation in his present cabinet.

Chaudhry Shujaat is said to be at loggerheads with Mr Jamali on a number of issues including the election of senate chairman and leader of the house, party secretary-general Salim Saifullah Khan has also complained that the party members were almost ignored or given junior slots in the cabinet. He also advocated more representation for the NWFP in the expanded cabinet.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the PPP Patriots and even the National Alliance were aspiring for at least two ministerial slots each. The FATA MNAs and senators and the heads of those splinter groups who have won one or more seats also want their share ensured.

This brings the tally to more than 18 ministerial slots and in last calculation makes the total to over 40 men’s cabinet.

Earlier the process was expected to be completed soon after the elections and oath-taking of senate but it got delayed due to different reasons including the Iraq crisis, disability of the premier to select his team out of a large number of aspirants for the berth and vice versa.

Prime minister’s adviser on finance, Shaukat Aziz, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Lt-Gen (Rtd) Javed Ashraf Qazi and Nisar A. Memon were said to be assured berths in the expanded cabinet. Other aspirants include Dr Attiya Inayatullah, NA’s Mohammad Ali Durrani, Alia Malik or her sister Sumaira Malik.

At least three nominees of the MQM, one from PPP Patriots, one from National Alliance, one from FATA and a couple of those heads of their parties who had supported Jamali government were to be accommodated.

This will leave little or no chance for bringing in many more party affiliated MPs in the cabinet and hence they would be accommodated either as parliamentary secretaries, chairmen parliamentary committees or on some other prized posts in the government.

A total of 36 parliamentary secretaries and an equal number of parliamentary committees were to be set up in the National Aassembly.