April 01, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429

GUJRAT/SIALKOT, March 31: Even though Multan beat Gujrat and Hala in the race for prime minister slot, Gujranwala region overwhelmed the entire country by grabbing five ministries in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani on Monday. Of these five ministers, two are from Gujrat, one each from Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and Narowal. Three ministers belong to the PPP and two are from the PML-N.

In the cabinet, the PPP denied representation to many districts which had emerged stronghold of the party in the Feb 18 elections. Among these districts, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Okara and Bahawalnagar performed well but no face from here was sent to the oath-taking ceremony at Presidency.

Federal ministers Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Qamar Zaman Kaira are from Gujrat, Nazar Muhammad Gondal from Mandi Bahauddin, Khwaja Asif from Sialkot and Ahsan Iqbal is from Narowal.

Political analysts believe both the PPP and the PML-N weighed personality clout while deciding for ministries. All the five ministers are very close to their top leaderships.

Mr Mukhtar has been in the limelight since Feb 18 for defeating PML-Q President Shujaat Husain. Mr Kaira won respect among the top PPP circles for braving the wrath of the government. Also, one of his cousins died in the Dec 28 attack in Rawalpindi while acting as a security officer to PPP leader Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Gondal made the headlines, when before the nomination of Mr Gilani as prime minister, he presented himself for the premiership.

The induction of three ministers from the Gujrat region would also help the PPP tackle the influence of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, who have been ruling the area for the last eight years.

Political commentators believe the PPP wants to strengthen its position in the Gujrat region where besides the Chaudhrys, the PML-N, which made its comeback in the election, could prove a real challenger to it.

Of a total of four National Assembly seats in Gujrat district, the PML-N secured just one, and of eight Punjab Assembly seats, its share was two.

The PPP won two NA seats and but performed poorly in PA as it could secure only one PA seat. The PML-Q won one NA and five PA seats. The result shows that anti-PPP vote dominates the Gujrat region.

Mr Mukhtar remained the federal minister of commerce in the Benazir Bhutto’s second tenure. Mr Kaira and Mr Gondal are first timers in the cabinet.

Mr Kaira was elected MNA for the second consecutive time. Earlier, his uncle, Haji Asghar Kaira (late), was elected MNA in 1988 and 1993. It is for the first time that a legislator from Mandi Bahauddin has been inducted in the federal cabinet in the shape of Mr Gondal. He was first elected MNA in 1993 and then won the slot of district nazim in the 2001 local body elections. His younger brother, Zulfiqar Ali Gondal, was elected MNA from NA-109 in the 2002 elections.

The PML-N posted Mr Asif and Mr Iqbal for their fierce fight against the previous government. Mr Asif has been detained in Attock and Lahore jails for more than one year while Mr Iqbal was baton charged by police many a times in anti-PML-Q government demonstrations. They remained steadfast and loyal to their party and the party now paid back by including them among the chosen few.