Rumours of potential changes in the federal cabinet are swirling thick and fast these days as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s third term in office approaches its half way mark this November.

In the midst of the swirl, one notices a sudden burst of applause and praise for the prime minister from potential aspirants and, since he cannot be separated from his gutsy brother, for Shahbaz Sharif as well.

Most of the stories originate from PML-N legislators sitting in parliament who have their eyes on ministerial slots and are keen to serve under their great leader. Many of them, particularly the younger lot, can be seen vigorously defending the Sharif brothers’ policies and performance on TV talk shows. However, the moment their governance is criticized by Imran Khan and other PTI members, their vigor turns virulent as if to surpass the virulence of their bitterest foe.

Then there are other hopefuls who won in the 2013 general elections as independents but thought it better to partner with the ruling PML-N for immediate gains or to build a political career.

A third category of party aspirants comprises those who stood fast in their loyalty to the Sharif brothers during their years of exile in Saudi Arabia.

But the big question is whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is really contemplating reshuffling or expanding his 32-member cabinet or are the aspirants just hoping that he will do so because the Constitution allows him a maximum 50-member cabinet?

Harsh politics and misfortunes seem to have made the Sharif brothers averse to sharing power beyond close and trusted confidants. Indeed close relatives are even better as some occupy key portfolios in the cabinet and in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

Though half way through his five-year term, PM Sharif is yet to form a full-fledge federal cabinet. “This inherent flaw reflects in the malfunctioning of the PML-N leadership,” remarked a senior PML-N lawmaker who is not an aspirant but didn’t want to be quoted on record.

“Until someone has taken an oath of a certain ministry, I will not believe circulating stories.”  

At the moment, the federal cabinet consists of 20 ministers, 10 ministers of state and two advisers. Under the 18th Amendment, 11 per cent of the total members of parliament can become part of the cabinet. So, constitutionally, the prime minister can take 18 more into his embrace and thereby hang the hopes of all the aspirants for the vacant ministerial seats in his cabinet.

For others, however, the size of the cabinet is not the issue but the ad hoc filling of some key portfolios in the cabinet is. At a time when Pakistan is virtually in the crosshairs of inimical forces in a dangerously unstable region, many feel aghast that the country has no fulltime foreign minister or a defense minister. Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Mohammad Asif holds the defense portfolio as additional charge, while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spares time from his onerous duties to run the foreign affairs too.

Many people in the government and outside argue that since the military General Headquarters (GHQ) is effectively in charge of the country’s defense policy, the civilian leadership has nothing much to contribute there. Hence, Mr Asif is a good ‘fill in the blank’.

But that doesn’t silence government’s critics. For them the argument is more the reason to have a fulltime defense minister adept at steadying the civil-military relations. Even otherwise, Mr Asif has enough on his hands in the ministry of water and power to steady, foremost the economically crippling power shortage and the looming water shortage, they say.

“Doesn’t Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, by not appointing a fulltime defense minister, convey the impression to the outside world that he is not in full control of the country’s defense policy?” said a PTI leader in background discussions.

And though he needs the assistance of able Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi as advisors, the prime minister prefers to keep the ministerial charge of the foreign office in his hands. Relentless criticism from the media and opposition parties has not moved the prime minister.

A well-connected source in the Prime Minister’s Office, though, told Dawn that lately PM Sharif had been discussing the option of picking a permanent foreign minister. His information coincided with reports that a retired army general has been picked as an advisor to the prime minister “purely on security issues”.

Still, according to the source, so far everything regarding new appointments is in the air. “No formal summary has been jotted down in so many words on papers,” said the source.

It is not the first time that media is awash with stories of new entrants in the federal cabinet.

In October last year, at the peak of PTI-PAT protest demonstrations outside parliament house, PM Office publicly declared it was conducting performance audits of cabinet ministers. Extended sessions of the cabinet soon followed, giving the media a chance to indulge in speculating a reshuffle and probable new inductions in the federal cabinet but nothing significant emerged in the end.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2015

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