Nawaz expected to pick his cabinet after his visit to Saudi Arabia

[Cheetah786]

ISLAMABAD, May 15: As the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is set to form its governments at the centre and in Punjab in a couple of weeks, a number of its legislators have started lobbying to get coveted offices in the cabinet.

Sources in the party told Dawn that Nawaz Sharif had so far not held consultations on the formation of his cabinet and was expected to do this after his visit to Saudi Arabia soon.

The sources said Mr Sharif had not even decided whether Shahbaz Sharif would retain his provincial assembly seat or that in the National Assembly. The younger Sharif has already expressed a desire to become the Punjab chief minister for another term.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is also said to be in the run for the office of the Punjab chief minister, but his chances are slim because a strong group within the party has opposed him.

Ishaq Dar and Ahsan Iqbal are considered to be strong contenders for the foreign minister’s portfolio.

A source in the party said if Mr Dar was appointed as foreign minister, Sartaj Aziz could be made adviser to the prime minister on finance and Mr Iqbal could be given the water and power portfolio.

Senator Pervez Rashid is being tipped for the post of federal information minister.

Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, an MNA-elect from Islamabad, was being considered for the post of deputy speaker of the National Assembly. The PML-N leadership was also said to be discussing the names of Sumaira Malik and Saira Afzal Tarar for the same post.

The sources said the party leadership wanted to nominate someone from Balochistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhawa as speaker of the National Assembly.

Mr Sharif, they said, wanted Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai to become the speaker and had constituted a team under MNA-elect Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to contact Mr Achakzai for his consent.

Senator Pervez Rashid termed all reports about cabinet formation speculative and said no decision had been made so far.

He said since the prime minister belonged to Punjab, it was unlikely that all key ministries would be given to people from the same province because this would send a bad message to other provinces.

PML-N?s top guns jostle for key positions

So Riyadh will be running pakistan officially .

 

[SBD-3]

Lobbying season: PML-N close to finalising cabinet
LAHORE:
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is in the process of finalising a list of its cabinet members as well as various other portfolios.
The Sharif brothers are dealing with various lobbies within the party to decide who gets which cabinet slot.
According to sources, the party has set a benchmark for various ministries: for the post of Speaker of the House, a seasoned politician with deep knowledge on how the business of the house is conducted would be considered; to oversee the energy crisis, the minister should be someone with an engineering background, while the next interior minister should have the experience of dealing with law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the party has made it mandatory for the next finance minister to be an accountant and/or an economist. It has also been decided that the information minister should have experience in the media, while approval from ‘certain quarters’ would be required for the foreign minister.
Matching the men to the ministries
Various lobbies, comprising senior party officials and Baloch nationalists, are pushing for Lt General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch to get the portfolio of interior ministry because of his experience as the Balochistan corps commander and Sindh DG Rangers.

The PML-N has also shortlisted Baloch’s name for the post of National Assembly speaker along with PkMAP’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai. However, Qadir is more interested in the interior ministry portfolio.
The party has shortlisted two names for the Water and Power Ministry – Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as both have an engineering background.
Sartaj Aziz is lobbying for the portfolio of foreign minister, but he is neither a Senator nor a member of the National Assembly.
Ahsan Iqbal is said to have categorically refused to accept the portfolio of information minister, leaving Pervez Rashid as the lone candidate. Interestingly, Nawaz wants to keep the defence ministry portfolio with himself.
Clash of titans
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who contested elections from two National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats, is no longer in a strong position as compared to his rival group within the PML-N, led by Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Nisar contested two provincial assembly seats despite being advised by the party not to do so, a move which has even irked Shahbaz Sharif, who is known to be a close friend of his.
Nisar is nevertheless likely to be given the Petroleum, Oil and Gas portfolio.
Asif, on the other hand, is lobbying to get a good portfolio not only for himself but also for his aide Khawaja Saad Rafique from Lahore.
Engineer Khurram Dastgir will be given the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, while Baleeghul Rehman will be accommodated from Bahawalpur.
Meanwhile, two candidates – General (retd) Abdul Qayyum and General (retd) Ziauddin Butt – are lobbying for the post of national security adviser.
Ishaq Dar, who is currently the leader of the opposition in Senate, will be elevated as the finance minister. Raja Zafarul Haq is in the running to take his place in Senate.
Meanwhile, if Achakzai is appointed as the NA speaker, Sumaira Malik will be given the slot of deputy speaker.
US ambassador
Punjab caretaker chief minister Najam Sethi has emerged as a hot candidate for the coveted post.
Governorships
PML-N’s General Secretary Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and Mehtab Khan Abbasi are in the race for the portfolio of K-P governor, while PML-N’s Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan and PML-N’s Sindh President Syed Ghous Ali Shah are contenders for the Sindh governorship.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2013.
Lobbying season: PML-N close to finalising cabinet – The Express Tribune

 

[Jango]

Both articles completely contradict each other!

 

[Amaa'n]

From above articles onle 4 things caught my eye
1) foriegn ministry will require approval from certain quarter. Are thay talking about army, or some foreign hands?
2)nawaz shariff to visit KSA first
3) defence ministry stays with NSwhile appoint a Lt.gen as interior minister- which will be interesting to see as he has headed fc and rangers and an army boy too.....
4)najam sethi to get rewarded for his service by appointing him as US ambassador

 

[airmarshal]

So even before the govt has taken off, foreign meddling has started. Congratulation on getting Naya Pakistan PML-N version.