By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan’s new ruling parties have decided number of ministries and parliamentary secretaries to be appointed, a coalition official said here Thursday. The announcement will be made after final touches are given at a high-level meeting Friday.
The new coalition government led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) as the second largest party, plus three other smaller parties and independent members.
The coalition’s consultation committee held a meeting at Parliament House Thursday, attended by PPP leaders Raza Rabbani, Khurshid Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar, Taj Jamali and Farzana Raja and PML-N leaders Ishaq Dar, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Khawja Asif and Awami National Party’s Zahid Khan.
The consultations were about government formation, the federal cabinet and the action plan during first 100 days of the new government.
PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said it was the first time the headships of the standing committees were being given to the opposition and that the names of parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of standing committees have been decided by consensus.
“All the affairs relating to federal cabinet will be finalised before March 29 (the day when cabinet is expected to take oath),” he added.
Some 20 ministers would be inducted in the first phase while the cabinet will be expanded in three phases, said the official.
Responding to a question, Ali said the senate would be represented in the federal ministries. However, all parliamentary secretaries would from the National Assembly.
PPP leader Syed Khurshid Shah said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) could be inducted in the federal cabinet in future, adding PML-N expressed no reservations over the MQM’s induction in the central government.
Sources privy to the deliberations of these meetings said that Awami National Party (ANP), another coalition partner, was demanding two ministries in the first phase while the other coalition partners were of the view that ANP should have one.