oing against his word on austerity and keeping the federal cabinet small, last week Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif included twelve new federal ministers, nine state ministers and three advisors in the cabinet. The move has attracted criticism from several directions. The expansion is being seen as a bid to please the establishment, certain factions in his own party and coalition allies against attempts by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which is trying to cobble a larger opposition alliance.

Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Mustafa Kamal, Hanif Abbasi, Junaid Anwar, Shaza Fatim, Ali Pervez Malik, Mueen Wattoo, Sardar Yousuf, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, Rana Mubashar Iqbal and Raza Hayat Hiraj are the new federal ministers.

Some of names have left the PML-N ranks stunned. The appointment of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and former defence minister Pervez Khattak, for instance, has sparked a debate within the ruling coalition.

Khattak, once a close aide to the PTI’s founder Imran Khan, left the party ahead of the 2024 elections and formed PTI-Parliamentarians. This was seen as an attempt to split the PTI vote bank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, all candidates of the PTI-P lost their seats and Khattak announced retirement from politics. Khattak, was known for his fiery remarks against PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif during PTI protests. Analysts see his appointment as an advisor on interior affairs as an instruction by the establishment.

A PML-N stalwart, seeking anonymity, said, “We have been told by the party’s top leadership that he has been appointed to counter the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because he is known well to the province’s bureaucracy and can handle them better if the party opts for protests after Eid.”

Another controversy is over the induction of Mustafa Kamal, an MQM big shot. There are reports that the MQM chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui did not know about his inclusion in the cabinet. Kamal came to the spotlight as Karachi’s mayor. After Pervez Musharraf’s ouster, Kamal left the country and lived in anonymity for a while. Just before the 2018 elections, he mysteriously returned and formed his Pak Sarzameen Party, using anti-MQM and anti-Altaf Hussain narrative. However, he could not win a single seat in the elections. Later, he merged his party into the MQM. His inclusion in the federal cabinet is also seen as being backed by the establishment.

The appointment of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and former defence minister Pervez Khattak has sparked a debate within the ruling coalition. 

Aurangzeb Khan Khichi’s appointment is another point of debate within the PML-N. An independent MNA from Vehari, he has never been part of the PML-N. He contested his first two elections from the PML-Q under Gen Musharraf’s rule. Later, he joined the PTI. He contested the 2024 elections as an independent candidate but did not join the Sunni Ittehad Council (which was then a platform for the PTI in the parliament). Some argue that he is either being rewarded for not joining the SIC or has been included to please the ‘partners.’

Raza Hayat Hiraj, a veteran parliamentarian from Khanewal, is also a minister now. Hiraj, has a reputation for defection because of his zigzag political career. He won a National Assembly seat in 2002 as a PPP candidate but later joined the PPP-Patriots to vote for Zafarullah Jamali for the prime minister’s slot. Later, he joined the PML-Q, then PML-N and landed in the PTI before the 2018 elections. He contested the 2024 elections as an independent candidate, with the PTI backing; he won but did not join the SIC. In the House, he is known for his aggressive gestures and colourful language.

The inclusion of Aun Saqlain Chaudhry has stirred another controversy. Chaudhry has often been in the news. Once a close aide to Imran Khan, he was appointed as the chief coordinator to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. However, his strong ties with Jahangir Khan Tareen proved to be a problem for him as Khan removed him from his office. He was expelled from the party in 2021. He joined the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party with Tareen and Aleem Khan. His importance can be gauged by the fact that the PML-N supported him during the 2024 elections, after seat adjustment between PML-N and IPP in Lahore. He defeated Salman Akram Raja by a huge margin but the outcome remains controversial. Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz may have voted for him as their votes were registered in the same constituency. His inclusion in the cabinet indicates that he is also close to powerful quarters.

Wajiha Qamar, who reached the parliament in 2018 against a reserved seat from PTI’s share, is another name that left PML-N supporters in shock. She voted against Khan in the no-confidence motion. Later, she joined the PML-N which nominated her for a reserved seat in the National Assembly. Now, she is a minister.

The new inductions seem to suggest that not all of the important decisions for the PML-N are being made transparently and that the hybrid democracy model is getting stronger.

The author is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and analyst. His X handle: @BukhariMubasher