ISLAMABAD, April 9: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has directed all ministers, advisers and senior government officials to ensure their presence in a cabinet meeting convened on Wednesday, not for taking decision on any crucial issue but for a group photograph.
Nobody was prepared to say anything about the significance of the unusual get-together, the first of its kind being arranged during the tenure of Prime Minister Aziz. It has been said that the prime minister desires to get photographed with almost all the people he worked with as head of the government.
A notification issued by the cabinet division said the prime minister had been “pleased to direct that group photographs of the federal cabinet should be prepared”. All ministers, advisers and special assistants to the prime ministers, ministers of state, and all regular special invitees to cabinet meetings have been asked to be present.
Three group photographs have been planned — the first of the cabinet comprising the prime minister, federal ministers and the cabinet secretary; the second of the cabinet, including the ministers of state, and the cabinet secretary; and the third of all ministers and ministers of state, advisers, special assistants, special invitees and government officials who regularly attend cabinet meetings. Informed sources said that all these people had been separately asked to come to the meeting in national dress.
“It is too far away for me to know anything about Wednesday,” said Javed Akhtar, press secretary to the prime minister when asked about the photo-session. Asked if he expected any development before Wednesday or if he was referring to some reports that it might be a farewell event, he said: “You should not expect me to respond to such an issue, particularly after a statement issued by the president’s spokesman.”
When told that a directive had been issued to all cabinet members, advisers and senior officials to be available for the photo-event, he said: “I cannot believe that” and added it was only in Pakistan that people said and wrote things “without any fear of loss of face”.
When contacted, Minister of State for Information Tariq Azim said it was a routine matter to have group photographs of the cabinet and the one such event to planned later this week had no special significance. It had been a tradition, he said, since the days of Quaid-i-Azam.
Answering a question, he said he had heard about speculations in the media people that it would be a farewell event, but it was not true.A cabinet member who is serving as minister for a seventh time said such an event had never been held before. He said the government was making itself a ‘laughing stock’.
Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, when contacted by Dawn, said he had not received any letter for the group photograph and hence he could not comment on the issue.
Another minister, who did not want to be identified, said it was a normal practice to have group photographs taken soon after the swearing-in, but this time it was delayed without any reason. He said there was nothing unusual about the photo event and it should not be linked to the rumours doing the round these days.
