LAHORE: The appointment of candidates for various cabinet positions has become a divisive matter, making the process of assembling a federal cabinet difficult.
A top PML-N politician who is expected to become a federal minister denied having any first-hand knowledge of cabinet assignments in an interview with The Express Tribune. The leader insisted that he had not attended any meetings that discussed government allotments, despite rumours in the media.
The PML-N leader said it would be absurd to consider Mohsin Naqvi being the interior minister, instead of only an adviser or special assistant to the prime minister.
He claimed that the already precarious credibility of the government will be further damaged by Naqvi’s admission.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chose to collaborate with a person of his choosing because he was not happy with Ishaq Dar’s performance as finance minister during his last term, according to a reliable source within the PML-N. In this context, he refuted reports that Rawalpindi was exerting any pressure.
Ishaq Dar was brought back from London in September 2022 to replace Miftah Ismail, the then-finance minister. Ishaq Dar’s choice to take over as PM Shehbaz’s cabinet made poor decisions, which made it difficult for him to manage the economy out of catastrophe.
But under his administration, the nation’s economy declined, which made the PML-N lose popular support.
Under his leadership as finance minister, the economy declined, and the harm he caused was not limited to the nation’s economy. With 16 months of financial mismanagement, the PML-N lost popular support and its reputation as a competent troubleshooter collapsed.
Despite the failures, Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, did not stop praising his relative Dar, who is also his related, and giving him and his younger brother Shehbaz credit for keeping the country from going into default.
There were also rumours that the PML-N’s performance in its previous term had not pleased the establishment.
Speaking under anonymity, a current provincial minister and PML-N leader suggested that Dar’s rejection as finance minister was due to Shehbaz Sharif’s choice for a new nominee.
Although the source softly hinted that Ata Tarar may have received advice from influential people while serving as minister of information, she denied that the establishment had put any pressure on her in this regard.
Despite expressing personal opposition, the minister refrained from commenting on Mohsin Naqvi’s possible nomination to the interior ministry, citing the potential harm it could cause to the government’s reputation should it come to pass.
