Lahore:
The expansion of the federal cabinet, as well as a planned reshuffle in Punjab, have put speculations on the PPP which officially joins the government – the initiates claiming that the decision to stay outside aims to maintain its chances to form the next government.
A senior PPP official said that the party’s decision to avoid the cabinet did not reflect any principle but to keep its powder dry for the 2028 elections.
Since the formation of the current government, political circles have been in fullness with speculation at the moment when the PPP would finally take posts of cabinet.
However, the last extension of the cabinet seems to have put the question in bed – at least for the moment.
Similarly, in Punjab, reports on an upcoming expansion of the cabinet have been disclosed to the media. The provincial information minister, while speaking to an online information platform, confirmed that chief minister Maryam Nawaz was planning to extend his office.
However, she has neither confirmed nor denied the names circulating in the media – none of whom includes PPP leaders.
Addressing L’Express PK Press Club, a senior PPP official admitted that the party’s decision to sit on the sidelines did not aim to make the high moral, but rather a calculated decision to stay in the race in the next general elections.
“There is this conviction that, according to the rotation policy, we will train the next government,” said the PPP chief. However, he personally did not subscribe to this notion, arguing that the PPP has no public support, especially in Punjab.
He stressed that the PML-N actively shaped the image of Maryam Nawaz with the clear intention of positioning it as the next Prime Minister. “Counting that PML-N withdraws for PPP, on the basis of any past arrangement, seems very unlikely,” he said.
He added that Maryam gained ground among the voters, and if his momentum continued, the chances of PPP back to the center would be slim.
To level the rules of the game, the leader suggested that PPP leads Asefa Bhutto Zardari to the Punjab political arena as a new face, arguing that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had already been tested and had not moved the needle in the province.
“Asefa Bhutto, under the wing of Atif Ali Zardari, could do wonders,” he said, adding that Zardari, given his age, would not be able to pull the ropes to Punjab as effectively as before. At this stage, the PPP chief recognized, the party was unable to shake the boat for the PML -N government – at least for the moment.
