LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has given a ‘strategic direction’ to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to expand the provincial cabinet to “improve the government’s performance to provide relief to the masses”, that is also being seen as a reaction to the opposition’s recent bid to woo the ruling PTI allies – Chaudhrys of Gujrat.

The Punjab government is already having a 47-member strong cabinet that includes 37 ministers, five advisers and as many special assistants to the chief minister (SACM).

Sources claimed that the Constitution allowed the Punjab government to have ministers up to 11 per cent of the strength of the House, besides maximum five advisers and as many SACMs.

This constitutional provision allows the Punjab government to induct up to 41 ministers and still it can have four more cabinet members.

The sources say that after the prime minister’s instruction, Punjab government could induct four more ministers.

Fresh blood to improve govt’s performance, says SAPM Gill

However, no one in the government, including those considered close to the prime minister, could name any one likely to be taken in the Punjab cabinet.

Sources say the opposition’s recent hyper activity and the meetings of Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman with the Chaudhrys of Gujrat (and eventual assurance of continued support by PML-Q federal minister Moonis Elahi) might have compelled the prime minister to order Punjab cabinet expansion. They say that at least one more minister may be inducted from the PTI’s allied parties.

Sources in the Punjab government claim that the bureaucracy has also been instructed to ensure that no job desired by Mr Elahi should be kept pending, without a valid reason.

“The PTI government will induct fresh blood to help improve performance of the Punjab cabinet,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill told the media persons here on Wednesday.

Gill said since Punjab was a big province in terms of population and centralised system was in vogue, it was need of the hour to create more institutions and inject fresh blood in the existing ones to serve the masses.

Some senior PTI leaders told Dawn that though the prime minister had given instructions for induction of more members in the Punjab cabinet, he did not name anyone for the slots.

They said the premier discussed Punjab cabinet expansion with the chief minister, PTI Secretary-General Asad Umer and PTI Punjab President Shafqat Mahmood only.

“The Punjab government has for quite some time been seeking induction of more ministers [into the cabinet] and the prime minister’s instruction will only expedite the process,” federal education minister and PTI Punjab president Shafqat Mahmood told Dawn. Similarly, he said, ministers would also be inducted into the federal cabinet.

Mr Mahmood said that active party members would be inducted into the Punjab cabinet and the process to select the candidates had begun.

“The names of new ministers will be made public in a few days,” he said.

Mr Gill said the PTI government stabilised the economy with $22 billion reserves, $30 billion exports and “hyper” business activity in the country and now it required to expand the cabinet so that every sector could be looked after to offer maximum benefits to the people across the country.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022