ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday inducted five more special assistants, taking the number of cabinet ministers to 83, the largest ever recorded in Pakistan’s history.
The federal cabinet swelled to 83 members on Wednesday when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inducted five more special assistants to it – a move that is set to put extra burden on already suppressed economy.
As per notification, copy of which is available with MM News, the premier has appointed Rao Ajmal Khan, Malik Sohail Khan, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Chaudhry Hamid Hameed and Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh to his cabinet, making it largest in the history of the country.
With the five new special assistants to the prime minister, the cabinet now consists of 38 federal ministers, seven ministers of state, four advisers to the PM and 34 SAPMs. All the five have been given the status of the state minister while they had not been assigned any portfolio.
This is interesting to note that the expansion in federal cabinet has been made at a time when the country is having critical dialogues with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on issues related to recovery and cuts, and given the ongoing economic turmoil where foreign exchange reserves have fallen to an alarming low level, inflation has soared and deteriorating law and order situation, the expansion of cabinet is unjustified as it would cost the national kitty in terms of allowances and perks.
