According to the sources, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf came to attend the cabinet meeting on the scheduled time but it was a shock for him when he was informed that not a single minister had yet reached the meeting venue.

However, he waited for them for 15 minutes and it was Interior Minister Rehman Malik who immediately reached the Prime Minister Secretariat.The ministers started coming to the PM Secretariat when the staff of the prime minister contacted them on phone. Adviser to PM on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar were the last to reach the Prime Minister Secretariat for the meeting.

It is not for the first time that the prime minister has to wait for the ministers as it has become a routine. Even on Tuesday, the prime minister reached the Supreme Court before the federal ministers.

Meanwhile, when the cabinet meeting started 30 minutes behind the scheduled time, the prime minister did not make a mention of the embarrassing situation.According to sources, during the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf presented the proposal put forth by Interior Minister Rehman Malik to observe ‘Yaum-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (SAW)’ on Friday which was backed by all the cabinet members.

However, sources said three cabinet members PM’s Adviser Dr Asim Hussain, Dr Firdous Ashiq Aawan and Sheikh Waqas Akram opposed the proposal and even criticised Rehman Malik.Sources said they were of the view that it would create a law and order situation and interior ministry had no capacity to handle the situation.

But sources quoted Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying when the government itself was part of the protest for the cause, there would be no harm to observe the day.At the same time, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf along with other cabinet members fully supported Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s proposal.