ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday appointed Senator Fida Muhammad as Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chief whip in Senate.
He has also appointed Senator Ejaz Chaudhry as PTI’s parliamentary leader in the upper house of parliament.
Earlier in the day, it was predicted that the premier would make changes to his cabinet within the coming few days. Moreover, consultations with his special aides have reportedly been completed in this matter.
Shortly after the Senate elections had ended, sources in the ruling party had told Pakistan Today that Prime Minister Imran Khan had decided to reshuffle the federal cabinet.
Other than some new faces making their way into the federal cabinet, the portfolios of some of the ministers are also likely to be changed, Pakistan Today had been told.
According to the sources, proposals had been prepared in the cabinet as well as in the bureaucracy.
These changes are likely to concern the offices of the Punjab chief secretary, Home Department federal secretary and information secretary.
As frustration grows in the party circles, the premier stands firm in his belief that the ministers have to perform without giving any excuse. As such, sources had said that Prime Minister Imran will reshuffle the cabinet on the performance of the ministers and the newly elected senators are also likely to be included in the federal cabinet.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan is not happy with the performance of several key ministers, so he has decided that only those who can deliver will remain in the cabinet,” a source had said on condition of anonymity.
“Delivery and performance are the things in which the prime minister is interested because he does not like to hear excuses after extraordinary delays in the completion of projects for any reason,” the source had said.
Reportedly Barrister Ali Zafar, Aun Abbas Bappi and Dr Zarqa are likely to be added to the federal cabinet while the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is also looking to name a new minister to take the key offices of information and communications.
Furthermore, Murad Saeed is likely to lose one of his ministries as Communications is likely to be handed over to someone else due to his failure to launch even a single project during the past two and a half years.
The sources had said that due to controversy around his US nationality, it is yet to be decided whether or not Faisal Vawda would be handed the reigns of the Ministry of Water again.
It also emerged that Prime Minister Imran reportedly wants a change in the Ministry of Information while Senator Faisal Javed may also be given a cabinet slot.
Moreover, it is pertinent to mention that Hammad Azhar last week replaced Hafeez Shaikh as minister of Finance, while the PM’s aide on petroleum, Nadeem Baber, had been asked to step down for the sake of transparency.
