ISLAMABAD, July 10: Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani are reported to have agreed during talks in Dubai to expand and reshuffle the federal cabinet to improve governance and contain unrest in the party ranks.

The PPP leaders have also finalised the names for parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of standing committees of the National Assembly to be appointed in a few days.

Sources told Dawn on Thursday that the Dubai meeting had decided to expedite efforts to bring the Pakistan Muslim League-N back into the cabinet. It was decided that for the time being only ministers of state would be appointed to ministries vacated by PML-N ministers.

The PML-N ministers quit the cabinet on May 12 in protest against government’s failure to reinstate the deposed judges.

Full-fledged ministers would be appointed only after a ‘final no’ from the PML-N to the PPP’s request to rejoin the cabinet, the sources added.

At present the PPP ministers are overburdened, holding more than one portfolio. They have been complaining to the prime minister that they are not able to pay attention to the work of their ministries, affecting the overall performance of the government.

After the resignation of nine PML-N ministers, 41 federal ministries were distributed among 13 PPP, one JUI-F, two ANP and one Fata ministers.

About 12 to 15 ministers of state are expected to be inducted into the cabinet. They will be given important portfolios like food and agriculture, commerce, culture and youth affairs, education, railways, communications, petroleum and natural resources, science and technology, religious affairs, women development and tourism.

Three or four new federal ministers are also likely to be inducted.

The sources were not certain about the cabinet reshuffle plan, but some of them hinted that Sherry Rehman, who is looking after four ministries, might lose the prized portfolio of information. However, a source close to Ms Rehman denied that a move like that was in the offing.

The PPP leadership had in March assured a number of MNAs who had been lobbying for ministries that they would be accommodated in the second phase soon after the passage of the budget in July.

Keeping in view the large number of aspirants, the PPP leadership has now decided to appoint chairmen of 44 NA standing committees and a dozen parliamentary secretaries.

Addressing PPP office-bearers and workers in Dubai, Prime Minister Gilani said the government would soon expand the cabinet and reshuffle the portfolios. He said the number of ministers and state ministers would be increased for better coverage of areas of public importance.

Mr Zardari, who had gone to Dubai last week after visiting Greece and Turkey, had called senior party members, including the prime minister, to Dubai for consultation on important national issues and party matters.

The prime minister who was in Malaysia to attend the D-8 Summit was asked to stop over in Dubai on his way back home. Information Minister Sherry Rehman, Kashmir Affairs and Information Technology Minister Qamaruz Zaman Kaira and Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Minister Syed Khursheed Shah also dashed to Dubai for the meeting.

PPP sources told Dawn that the main purpose of the Dubai meeting was to discuss the future relationship with the major coalition partner, PML-N, which had adopted a tough position on the issue of reinstatement of the deposed judges. Several PML-N leaders have already stated that their party would wait till the end of this month for restoration of the judges and after that the PML-N may withdraw its support for the coalition government at the centre.