Pakistan PM has polls on mind

Islamabad: Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday formed a Cabinet filled with allies of toppled leader Nawaz Sharif in a reshuffle that appears aimed at bolstering support ahead of general elections due in mid-2018.

Darshan Punshi was sworn in as minister of state. He is the first Hindu minister to be appointed in 25 years. He is also the new addition from Sindh. Ishaq Dar, a powerful finance minister, returns in the same role, despite a criminal investigation ordered against him by the Supreme Court. Another staunch Sharif ally, Khawaja Asif, is to be foreign minister after having simultaneously run the ministries of defence and power.

The Cabinet has almost doubled in size to 47 members, sworn in during a televised ceremony after a reading from the Koran (holy book in the mainly Muslim nation of 190 million people).

“It’s a massive Cabinet,” said Pakistani writer and analyst Zahid Hussain. “It shows that it’s all about the next election.” But no decision appears to have yet been made by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party over whether Abbasi will stay as the Premier or step down after a brief period to make way for Mr Sharif’s brother Shahbaz, as outlined previously.

Mr Sharif resigned last week after the Supreme Court disqualified him for not declaring a source of income he denies receiving. But he retains control of PML-N and put forward Mr Abbasi as temporary Prime Minister until Mr Shahbaz becomes eligible to take over by winning a Parliamentary by-election. Since Mr Abbasi’s election, however, the party leadership no longer seems sure about that plan, as some fear Mr Shahbaz’s departure from his position as chief minister of eastern Punjab state could weaken the party’s grip on a core base of voters.

Pakistan’s mix of political parties means that whoever wins Punjab, which is home to more than half the country’s population, is likely to form the next government.

Former petroleum minister, Mr Abbasi, the co-founder of a budget airline, has vowed to run an efficient government but has indicated major decisions will flow from his brother Mr sharif, cementing the view of the toppled leader as the power behind the throne.

Mr Abbasi is a staunch Nawaz ally, having been by his side for most of his political career. The Cabinet was formed after several discussions between them and Mr Sharif’s allies. There are 28 federal ministers and 19 state ministers in the new Cabinet, almost double Mr Sharif’s 25-strong Cabinet when he swept the polls in 2013.