Bilawal Bhutto recently met Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House – Photo: File
Islam Abad: Talks between the ruling Muslim League (N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) alliance on the division of ministries have entered the final phase, with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari likely to return as foreign minister.
According to people familiar with the ongoing talks between the Muslim League (N) and the PPP, a power-sharing deal between the two parties is nearing finalisation, with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari likely to become foreign minister again. .
Sources said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be part of Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, a consensus reached during recent talks between the leadership of both parties.
He said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has again agreed to become the foreign minister while earlier he was reluctant to take over the ministry, both parties are now working on the details and timing of PPP’s inclusion in the cabinet.
Sources said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants the PPP to be included in the cabinet before the budget presented in the first week of June, but it is not clear whether the PPP will be part of the cabinet before the budget PPP will enter the cabinet in June.
The Muslim League (N) had earlier awarded Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar the post of Deputy Prime Minister, creating an opportunity for Bilawal Bhutto to take over the portfolio of the Foreign Ministry.
Informed sources said that Ishaq Dar’s office will be set up in the Prime Minister’s office and he will sit and work in the Prime Minister’s office after stepping down as Foreign Minister for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
He said that Ishaq Dar was not happy with the position of Foreign Ministry as he was always the Finance Minister but Shahbaz Sharif and other Muslim League (N) leaders did not want it.
On the other hand, there is a perception within the PPP that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari established himself nationally and internationally as the Foreign Minister during the 16 months of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rule.
He believes that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s return to the Foreign Ministry will benefit him and the party, but the final decision on whether to join the federal cabinet will rest with the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC).
It should be noted that after the February 8 elections, the PPP decided to support the Muslim League-N to form the government in the federation, but refused to join the cabinet it will take over later.
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) fulfilled its promise and gave the PPP, apart from the constitutional post of chairman in the presidency and the senate, the ability to appoint its governors in three provinces, and the PPP has now replaced him in the cabinet. will be part of
Foreign Ministry sources said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is a good choice as he has proven himself as a competent foreign minister in the 16 months leading up to the elections.
