Adil Najam
Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet – which, according to the official website of the government of Pakistan has 54 Ministers at the time of writing this post – is going to be ‘right-sized.’ If you were asked to assist the Prime Minister in choosing his new cabinet (including retaining or not existing Ministers and positions), who would you ask him to include?
Reportedly, and according to statements from the government’s two key spokespeople – Minister of Information Qamar Zaman Kaira and Minister of Law Babar Awan – this could include (a) reducing the number of actual ministries and Ministers, (b) inducting some new people, or (c) removing, replacing or reassigning existing Ministers. There are particular dynamics of Pakistan politics that have led to this decision, but cabinet changes are a regular and even expected feature of most governments and course correction is always wise, as much in our national affairs as in our personal life.
So, what is your advise for the Prime Minister as he devises a new cabinet? Who should remain? Who might be brought in? How might the portfolios themselves be reorganized beyond what is already mandated by recent constitutional changes?
Looking for a list outlining the composition of the current cabinet, I found this list of Ministers on the official website of the government of Pakistan. A little confused because at least some of the names here have reportedly left their Ministerial posts; but maybe the notifications have not yet gone through or the website has not been updated. But, this list is really the right one to base this discussion on since this is the cabinet that is being ‘right-sized.’
P.S. OK, here is the customary invocation that many readers will summarily dismiss. But let us request seriously because it is a serious request: Cynicism is easy, it can also be a retreat from reason and a deflection from thinking hard about hard problems, and usually it is not funny (there are exceptions, but they are very infrequent… There really are very few Oscar Wilde’s around). So, please spare us the wisecracks and cynicism. If we want serious politics in this country, we need to get serious about politics ourselves.
Jub koi Piyaar say bulaay gaa
Tum ko Raja Parvez Ashraf yaad aae gaa
:)
Some comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
– “come down will you please things not going to change over night it will take some time.”
– “I will rather say removing certain people will make all the difference….and make Gelani more independent and democratic Prime Minister therefore…here I go…..remove:
>Rehman Malik
>Baber Aawan
>Raja Pervez
>Ameen Fahim
>50% ministers of state
>All advisers”
– “We are in need of removing a mindset instead.”
– “Adil Najam Sahab, will you kindly take up the issue of public grilling of an actress Veena Malik in an Express TV program. There was a news item about it in NY Times yesterday. Pakistani Media is becoming a self imposed self righteous mob of its own kind. I know you have highlighted this issue before but I think TV Anchors need a very vigourous mind cleansing in this regard, which offcourse we can not do but I am still reeling with the behaviour and language of the so called unbiased anchor Kamran Shahid of Front Line and the way he was asking his very very slanting questions. I wonder how they conned that woman to come on that show.”
None of the ministers have performed well and should all be sent home,Who should replace them is a difficult question as they have nobody of credibility. Each minister costs Rs 1.25 Crore average to the tax payers per year.The State ministers are good for nothing and as such these positions should be abolished.Pakistan cannot afford this luxury. The criteria that in order to become a minister you must be a friend of Zardari and should also be corrupt should also be abolished, otherwise the performance of the new inductees would be as pathetic as the last cabinet.
Are these ministers “qualified” to perform their respective jobs or were they awarded ministries because they belong to a winning party and have spent few nights in jail?
I think its a fair concern, not an intended joke or a cynicism.
Looking back to the country of birth after 15 years of break, all I notice is a same standard of living for a common man and the country is still stuck at a same place where I left it.
Firstly, I would bring the number of ministry’s down to 20 and bring in the following people. Ali Athar has some interesting suggestions, and while I agree with some, I would make the following changes:
Foreign Affairs: Move Shah Mahmood into the PM role. He has been vying for it, and in reality we need a FM who is truly a good diplomat. I would bring in Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, whom I’ve seen in action and is by far a diplomat par excellence.
Defense: Remove Mukhtar and bring in Lt. Gen (R) Ali Kuli Khan. He is a distinguished officer and we need a strong yet honest broker with the military.
Attorney General / Law: Merge this role into one, and bring Aitzaz Ahsan in for the role.
Education: Pakistan needs to do much much more in Education if it is to survive past 10 years. Sardar Assef is fundamentally a good guy, and should stay in the role. I cant speak of how effective he has been as the Education Minister.
Science & Technology: I cant understand why a separate IT ministry exists, as that should be merged with S&T. This should be a stronger ministry if we want a vibrant economy. While I respect Dr Ata Ur Rahman, we need someone who is more technology focused.
To appease the bafoons who get dropped as ministers, they can be made chairs of parliamentary committees, who need to truly do their job in overseeing the work of the government, and to make recommendations for changes.
Lastly (wishful thinking), our parliamentarians need to go back and do their job of legislating laws and bills, which they barely do. To our MNA’s, Senators and MPA’s, they still think they are union council members who need to get development funds to build streets and provide electricity to the local neighborhoods. I would also cap the number of MNA’s, MPA’s and Senators, just like the US does, so that the role has greater importance and isnt simply a rat race.