28 new ministers to join Cabinet

ISLAMABAD - The names of the federal and state ministers to be inducted in the federal cabinet were finalized and they would be administered oath of their new assignment here at President House on Monday (today) by President Asif Ali Zardari.
But at eleventh hour MQM leadership decided to stay away from joining the Federal Cabinet but the MQM leadership was not available for comments. However, the sources in the party disclosed that as the demands of the MQM regarding the portfolio of their choice was not met the central leadership of the party decided to stay away from the process.
The list of fresh entrants in the Federal Cabinet were decided in consultation with the coalition partners but till filing of this report the names of the Muttahida Qoumi Movement MPs were not given because the MQM Rabata Committee meeting was in progress in London under the head of their Quaid Altaf Hussain.
In the evening Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had called the meeting of the senior party leadership at dinner at Prime Minister House where the would-be ministers and the sitting cabinet members from the party were invited to spruce up the list of the candidates to be taken in what generally believed as the final phase of induction in the federal cabinet.
The sources privy to the developments of the meeting disclosed that some of the senior members of the party had raised objection over the list of the PPP federal and state ministers prepared by the government and on their insistence some more PPP MPs names were included in the list.
According to the sources in all some 26 to 28 new ministers would take oath on Monday (today) with some 16 to 18 members of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party made part of the list of the federal and state ministers to be inducted in the federal cabinet. Some three to four ministries would be doled out to MQM while JUI(F) and ANP would get another couple of berths in the cabinet.FATA members would also get another slot.
Though some party leaders insisted that Makhdoom Amin Fahim’s name was on top of the list with the status of senior minister while some close confederates of the Makhdoom from Hala said that he would not join the cabinet and that was the reason he was not here and was staying in Dubai.