Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government have appointed seven new special assistants to the PM (SAPMs) in two days, making PM Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet one of the largest in Pakistan’s history. The total number of members now stands at 85, including SAPMs. As political observers have noted, we are on the verge of a century if the prime minister continues to hand out more slots. All of this would be mildly amusing for a meme-obsessed nation if it weren’t so bad for the optics. A
t a time when Pakistan is experiencing one of its worst economic crises, with an IMF deal expected to result in even more fiscal tightening for the majority of the country’s classes, regular notifications announcing this or that political worker being appointed as a “special assistant” are bound to cause outrage. They have done so. Social media is raging, and the PTI and its supporters have a convenient and justifiable reason to criticise the current administration’s tone deafness.
The government has stated unequivocally that SAPMs are not officially considered cabinet members. It has also issued a notification stating that 14 of the SAPMs are working for free. While that is all well and good—and don’t forget that there are an equal number of SAPMs whose perks and privilege status are unknown—the issue isn’t who gets a car and who uses a taxpayer-funded office. The issue is that for a government that only lasted a few weeks after winning a no-confidence vote, a smaller cabinet with key positions should have been formed.
Political compulsions cannot be separated from strategic planning, but there must be a line somewhere. And it should have been aimed at doling out SAPM positions like party favors. Some observers argue that because the PDM government has many coalition partners, the PM has had to accommodate all of them, but this is no excuse.
If the SAPM title carries no protocol or privilege, and if the special assistants are there to assist a struggling government, then why the grand announcements? How does a bloated cabinet help a PML-N that is already perceived as unable to move beyond ‘old politics’? Can the PM say no, whether under duress or in response to recommendations from powerful allies or stakeholders?
Even his harshest critics would admit that Shehbaz Sharif was a good administrator during his tenure as chief minister. He was good at team building and day-to-day administrative issues, so it was assumed that the well-known Shehbaz When he became prime minister, his speed and efficiency came naturally. But all we’ve seen lately from this government is dithering and the worst possible images.
The PDM government, particularly the prime minister, should recognise that now is not the time to expand the federal cabinet. If people are expected to tighten their belts, which are already tight, they would rather not even see the idea that the government appears to be acting as if nothing is wrong. Can we expect a shift in the PML-N’s political style now that Maryam Nawaz is attempting to “revitalize” the party? Otherwise, it will have underestimated public sentiment and overestimated its own constituencies.
