20 more Punjab MPs may take oath as ministers today

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz-led coalition government in Punjab is expected to increase the size of provincial cabinet today by adding 20 more ministers.

Party sources said the second phase of expansion of the Punjab cabinet is likely to be completed on Sunday. New addition to the provincial cabinet may include Rana Mashhood Ahmed, Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, Khwaja Imran Nazir, Col (retd) Ayub, Yawar Zaman, Malik Tanveer Aslam, Bilal Yaseen, Zakia Shah Nawaz, Manshaullah Butt, Jahangir Khanzada, Col (retd) Tariq, Azma Bukhari, Kazim Ali Pirzada, Malik Nadeem Kamran, Tahir Khalil Sindhu and Chaudhry Iqbal Gujjar. Sources said the PPP may also get two more members in the cabinet and two advisers.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has announced convening a meeting of the provincial cabinet on June 13, 2022 to approve the budget. The provincial cabinet’s meeting will approve the budget proposals for the next financial year 2022-23.

Sources said the provincial budget for the financial year 2022-23 will include a special aid package to control inflation and prices of food items. The budget may also introduce measures to increase the purchasing power of people, sources added.

Sources claim that no new tax was being imposed in the upcoming budget. They said the concessions already given would be maintained while the facility package of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz for availability of flour at low price would also be continued in the next financial year.

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, while chairing a meeting on Saturday, said that the focus of PMLN’s government in Punjab was to provide relief to the common man in the present difficult economic situation and to bring essential edibles to the access of common man.