'Bitterness' Within Pakistan's Ruling Party Grows as PM Publishes Top-10 Ministries List - Report
08:30 GMT 12.02.2022 (Updated: 10:58 GMT 22.01.2024)
© AP Photo / B.K. Bangash
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For months, tensions have been simmering within Pakistan's government, with several party leaders taking potshots at Prime Minister Imran Khan. Two weeks ago, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak reproached him, and now another cabinet minister has criticised the cricketer-turned politician.
Bitterness within the ranks of Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is growing, with many federal ministers voicing criticism of PM Imran Khan after he excluded many top ministries from his list of the top-10 performing ministries announced on Thursday, media outlet Dawn reported.
The ministers were unhappy after their respective ministries were passed up. PM Khan's recognition is seen as crucial for the country's main stakeholders in power, considering his wider appeal in Pakistani society and his close ties with the all-powerful military.
A ministry's inclusion in the list of top performing ministries is being viewed as PM Khan's backing for the minister concerned ahead of the national elections next year.
According to the publication, PM Khan was not even spared by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who expressed his dismay that his ministry didn't make it onto the highly-revered list. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was ranked 11th.
Expressing his displeasure on the matter, Qureshi, who is also the second in command in the ruling party, wrote a scathing letter to PM Khan's Special Assistant Arbab Shahzad.
It was Shahzad who was the man behind the setting up of criteria for selecting the top ten ministries and even the associated final report was prepared under his guidance.
In his letter, Qureshi questioned the motive behind leaving the Foreign Ministry out of the top-10 list despite it achieving 22 of its 26 assigned targets during the nine-month period of the current fiscal year.
Two main allies of PM Khan's government, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), were left fuming at the PTI chief after the ministries of IT and housing, that are under their respective control, were not included in the top-10 list.
According to the publication, PM Khan was not even spared by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who expressed his dismay that his ministry didn't make it onto the highly-revered list. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was ranked 11th.
Expressing his displeasure on the matter, Qureshi, who is also the second in command in the ruling party, wrote a scathing letter to PM Khan's Special Assistant Arbab Shahzad.
It was Shahzad who was the man behind the setting up of criteria for selecting the top ten ministries and even the associated final report was prepared under his guidance.
In his letter, Qureshi questioned the motive behind leaving the Foreign Ministry out of the top-10 list despite it achieving 22 of its 26 assigned targets during the nine-month period of the current fiscal year.
Two main allies of PM Khan's government, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), were left fuming at the PTI chief after the ministries of IT and housing, that are under their respective control, were not included in the top-10 list.
