ISLAMABAD: The caretaker federal cabinet in its first meeting on Friday took stock of security arrangements for the coming general elections and called them satisfactory.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Information Minister Arif Nizami described those arrangements as up to the mark and said that despite multiple challenges the government was well on target for holding the elections under best possible security measures.

Interior Minister Malik Habib Khan briefed the cabinet on security arrangements for the polls.

“Even before the announcement of general elections serious efforts were being made to sabotage these, but after today’s meeting I assure you that there will be no delay in holding the elections as the caretaker government is fully committed to holding a free and fair polling with complete security,” Mr Nizami said.

Article 224 of the constitution provides a single-point mandate to the caretaker set-up i.e. to conduct elections after dissolution of the national and provincial assemblies.

Sources privy to the meeting told Dawn that the government was worried about the security threat to leading politicians during election campaign for which the interior minister had been directed to remain in constant touch with provincial governments.

They said the meeting had decided to take all political parties into confidence on security arrangements for their leaders.

In reply to a question, Mr Nizami said the meeting had not discussed the issue of deployment of the army troops during the elections.

Soon after taking charge as caretaker prime minister, retired Justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso held a meeting with Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who assured the former of full cooperation in election duty if needed. In his opening remarks at the cabinet meeting, the prime minister underlined the importance of law and order and said he had issued directives to the ministry concerned to evolve a contingency plan in consultation with all stakeholders to curb the possibility of any untoward incident during electioneering and on the polling day.

Justice Khoso briefed the cabinet on his meeting with chief ministers.

CONTROVERSY: Mr Nizami admitted that because of some ‘misunderstanding’ a would-be member of the cabinet could not be sworn in which resulted in dropping of his name from the final list of ministers at the eleventh hour.

Dr Mushtaq Khan, who apparently was chosen to head the finance ministry, was stopped from taking the oath because of his position as chief economist with the State Bank.

A government official privy to the meeting told Dawn that Justice Khoso had postponed a briefing by the finance division, which would be taken at a special cabinet meeting next week.

According to the official, the prime minister is looking for a suitable professional to head the finance ministry because of the country’s precarious financial health.

When asked, the information minister said the search for a finance minister was going on, but it was up to the prime minister to take the final decision.

In reply to a question about Sohail Wajahat Siddique, a member of the cabinet, Mr Nizami said the prime minister would decide who would run which ministry. He declined to comment on a controversy surrounding Mr Siddique’s selection because of his close contact with former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain.

But the government official said Mr Siddique had not only attended the cabinet meeting but also introduced himself as minister for petroleum.

Neither the media wing of the ministry nor the cabinet division has issued any notification about his portfolio.

When Mr Nizami’s comments were sought on three important ministries —finance, defence and foreign affairs — currently lying vacant, he said the prime minister was very much competent to look after the affairs of the state and, if needed, he could appoint people of his choice.

MALEEHA LODHI: Meanwhile, former ambassador to the United States and Britain, Dr Maleeha Lodhi told Dawn that she had been offered the post of foreign minister a few days ago, but “I respectfully declined this as I do not intend to join the interim government. I was honoured to have been asked but expressed my inability to accept the offer”.

SCRUTINY: Information Minister Nizami said some uncalled-for developments had taken place during the scrutiny of nomination papers by returning officers which could be avoided. “The scrutiny of papers by all means is the exclusive domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the government has nothing to do with the returning officers,” he said when asked if the ECP and the judiciary were undermining the role of the executive in the run-up to general elections.

Mr Nizami said it was for the first time that the country was witnessing such a tedious scrutiny mechanism of candidates which, he said, would get better with the passage of time.

Over the last few days potential candidates are up in arms against the returning officers for ridiculing them during the scrutiny of their papers.

The nomination papers of a number of well-known politicians, including Ayaz Amir, Faisal Saleh Hayat and Syeda Abida Hussain, have been rejected merely on the basis of allegations. Politicians are also being asked to verify their Islamic credentials and recite verses from Holy Quran.