Another shake-up

There are hints that yet another shake-up in the federal cabinet may be imminent. This will be the second major reshuffle of ministers during the current year. A change in portfolios and faces took place in April this year, when Asad Umar was removed and other minor additions made in terms of advisers. This is perhaps one of the most volatile cabinets in Pakistan’s history, and quite evidently the job of a minister is not a safe one to have. It is important for PM Imran Khan, a former Pakistan cricket captain, to remember that a change in batting order will not always solve matters. In fact, it may sometimes aggravate them. It takes time for a minister, especially in a government where many have relatively little experience, to understand their ministry, the problems they confront and how to solve them. It is also true that due to no fault of their own, many problems exist and many ministries do not work well. The suggestion of a cabinet reshuffle is said to have come at a meeting of the PTI parliamentary party, where some of those attending complained about ‘non-cooperation’ of some ministers in addressing people’s grievances. In other words, the PM was told they were not doing their jobs.

According to newspaper reports, former finance minister Asad Umar may return to the cabinet according to his own claims. We cannot say if there is any validity in this, only that at this moment stability is especially important for the country and for its people, and we need a government which buckles down to the tough task it has at hand. It has also been reported that an MNA who formerly belonged to the PPP was strongly reprimanded for bringing up the issue of inflation in the NA. Naturally, the NA would appear to be the right forum to bring up such issues and the concerned lawmaker stated he had frequently done so while with the PPP.

Meanwhile, in distant New York Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, has also been replaced by Munir Akram. The reasons for this peculiar move are difficult to understand, especially at a time when Pakistan needs the UN on its side to tackle Indian pressures over Kashmir and other matters. Lodhi, an experienced diplomat, had served several governments extremely competently and while she has said she wished to move away, she could have been persuaded to stay on.