KARACHI: PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday hinted that his party would not be taking any ministries in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet — which is yet to be decided.

“I don’t think we are taking any ministries,” Dawn.com quoted Mr Zardari as having said while talking to journalists outside the National Assembly after PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was elected NA speaker unopposed.

“We want to first accommodate our friends,” Mr Zardari said, referring to the government’s coalition partners comprising eight political parties.

The former president’s statement comes after the PPP issued a notification on Saturday, inviting applications for party tickets in the national and provincial assemblies for the forthcoming general elections.

Farhatullah Babar, the party’s secretary general, said in a statement that each application should be accompanied by a bank draft of Rs40,000 for an NA party ticket and Rs30,000 for a provincial assembly ticket.

“Applications must reach the party secretariat in Islamabad or Bilawal House in Karachi by April 30,” it added.

The federal cabinet has yet to be announced even a week after Shehbaz Sharif assumed power. The prime minister has been taking his sweet time in appointing the federal cabinet as he wants to take along all his allies, particularly those who joined the former opposition after quitting the PTI coalition government.

Sources earlier informed Dawn that PPP, the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, told Shehbaz Sharif that they had no desire to join his cabinet and wanted to support him from the outside. But the premier had been insisting the party join him.

“We know the fragile nature of our alliance and we want to see the present government succeeding. We don’t want to give the impression that we have come to power only to get some portfolios or to enjoy perks and privileges,” a PPP leader said earlier. “We want business.”

However, another senior PPP leader told Dawn the party was more interested in getting constitutional offices instead of cabinet portfolios.

He said two constitutional offices had already fallen vacant after the resignations of the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker, and there are plans to remove Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

The PPP was also interested in the speaker’s office, the Senate chairman and even the presidency, as the party was expecting a resignation from the incumbent president, Dr Arif Alvi.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2022