March 30, 2006	Thursday	Safar 29, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, March 29: Reshuffle in the federal cabinet is reported to have been postponed till June. Official sources said on Wednesday the induction of three ministers and a minister of state might also be delayed till the return of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz after a visit from the US.

The sources said that the reshuffle had been postponed because parties in the ruling coalition were opposed to any change in portfolios of their ministers while the induction of new ministers had been dropped mainly because of strong lobbying by various interest groups and the absence of PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who is currently in Germany.

Chaudhry Shujaat is expected to return on April 4 and the prime minister is scheduled to leave for New York the same day.

About the intense lobbying for ministerial posts, sources said that a Fata group was supporting Senator Hamid Afridi to replace outgoing senator Ajmal Khan, while another group from tribal areas wanted MNA Pir Noorul Haq Qadri in the federal cabinet.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who held consultations with Chaudhry Shujaat before the latter left for Germany, discussed the issue on Monday and Tuesday with President Pervez Musharraf.

The prime minister, the sources said, was seriously considering a cabinet reshuffle but Chaudhry Shujaat was against the idea, contending that it might create problems during the next budget session.

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