ISLAMABAD - There is virtually no likelihood, even if the JUI-F returns to Treasury Benches, that its leaders would be accommodated by means of favourite Ministerial portfolios, particularly the Religious Affairs Ministry, which underlines the JUI-F reluctance to join the government despite being 'invited by the ruling PPP. It is learnt that the Ministerial portfolios and other Parliamentary positions which the JUI-F has laid its eyes on, are not likely to be given to it- a pertinent explanatory factor for the JUI-F not to mend its fences with the government. Moreover, in the presence of powerful stakeholders like PML-Q and MQM, Maulana Fazlur Rehmans party sees less room for any significant role in the power-sharing arrangement. Considering the role some JUI-F leaders played in bringing Haj scam to light in the backdrop of JUI-F efforts to grab Ministry of Religious Affairs in the past, the reconciliation likely to be reached between the ruling party and former coalition partner stands nowhere in sight. This information is confirmed by a Federal Minister from the ruling PPP, who, requesting not to be identified, told The Nation that the portfolio of the Religious Affairs Ministry had lately remained to be the longstanding and insistent demand of the JUI-F central leadership, but turned down by the PPP. The Minister said that the PPP top brass was 'fumed over the role played by the JUI-F leaders like Azam Swati to add 'fuel to fire in Haj scam for personal motives. 'When Haj scam issue surfaced, our party leadership was unanimously convinced not to be blackmailed by JUI-F and we follow the same policy line till date, he added. Asked if Religious Affairs Ministry was the sole bone of contention between the government and JUI-F, he nodded in affirmative saying that other issues did not matter as much as this issue did. 'I guess joining the Cabinet again and getting denied the Ministry they have long yearned is a bit too embarrassing for them, he commented on the JUI-F leaders 'no to join Treasury Benches. The Minister claims he was part of the recent meetings with JUI-F that followed the repetition of JUI-F demand for Religious Affairs Ministry, flatly refused by the PPP high command. With a Federal Minister as powerful as Syed Khursheed Shah at the helm of affairs at Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry is not likely to be handed over to a coalition partner. Reportedly due to these reasons, the JUI-F had not shown seriousness in responding to the ruling partys recent calls for forming a 'national reconciliation government from the very first day. Last week, the JUI-F senior leader and spokesperson Maulana Amjad Khan had dismissed the reports regarding formation of a national government. 'These reports are limited to television channels only, he had told this newspaper. The JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is out of country on an official visit while JUI-F Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri is in Quetta for the last few days. 'I am in Quetta due to personal engagements and I have not been part of the recent deliberations with the government therefore I am not in position to comment, he told The Nation in a telephonic conversation. 'The issue of Religious Affairs Ministry has soared our relationship with PPP but thats not the only issue. The PML-Q and PPP plotted together to isolate us and stabbed us in back to sabotage our initiative to form a united opposition, another senior JUI-F leader commented.