According to reliable sources, Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan has decided to induct eight more ministers in the cabinet, taking the total strength of the members of his council of ministers to 20. The decision was taken following the lifetime disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court earlier today, hastening the AJK PM to expand the cabinet to avert a possible no confidence motion against him by a group of disgruntled legislators within his own party, sources said. Initially he formed a nine-member cabinet, but later he had to expand the cabinet by inducting three more ministers the same year. The prime minister has been facing a stiff opposition from some of the legislators among the 32-member parliamentary party for a berth in the cabinet. NAB Lahore summons Nawaz Sharif over ‘illegal’ Jati Umra roadHowever, PM Khan has so far been successful in sustaining the pressure from legislators with support and blessing of the PML-N government in Islamabad, particularly from deposed PM Nawaz Sharif.

Source: The Express Tribune April 13, 2018 14:26 UTC