New Delhi: A day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan rewarded the top 10 ministries on the basis of their performance, some federal cabinet members expressed reservations for being overlooked, Dawn news reported.
Sources in some ministries told Dawn news that the list published on Thursday has created bitterness within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ranks after many frontline Ministries were dropped.
Some of the Ministries that could not find their place among the list were Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information Technology, Housing, Information and Environment.
In fact, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is also the vice president of the ruling party, even wrote a letter to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Establishment Arbab Shahzad, expressing serious reservations over placing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 11th spot.
The criteria on which the top 10 ministries were judged and a subsequent report presented to the Prime Minister were prepared by Shahzad.
According to the sources, two government allies — the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which held the IT and Housing Ministries, respectively — were also dejected for not being acknowledged despite showing ‘outstanding performance’.
In his letter, Qureshi expressed reservations over both the performance of Ministers and distribution of certificates among them.
Later, Shahzad said in a TV programme that it was the right of Qureshi to oppose the report, adding the document was prepared on the basis of available data.
“If Mr Qureshi thinks that his ministry should have come on the top position, it is his right (to think that way). But what we have mentioned in the report, it was based on the data we received,” he added.
(IANS)
