Pak PM Gilani dissolves cabinet

Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani has dissolved the federal cabinet as part of an exercise to refurbish the image of his govt that has been rocked by charges of inefficiency and corruption.Gilani announced the dissolution of the cabinet during an address on state-run PTV after all members of the cabinet submitted their resignations during a meeting chaired by him on Wednesday afternoon.

President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday approved the resignations of federal ministers, Geo News reported.According to the sources, the president has approved resignations of all the federal ministers including state ministers.On Wednesday, all the federal ministers tendered their resignations to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani during the cabinet meeting.The oath taking ceremony of new federal cabinet will be held on Friday at Presidency.

The ruling Pakistan People's Party is also required to downsize the cabinet under the provisions of the 18th constitutional amendment, a landmark reforms package passed by parliament last year.Besides, the government is facing pressure from the main opposition PML-N to reduce the size of the cabinet and cut spending.
Major Western powers and international donors like the US and the International Monetary Fund have called on Pakistan to reduce spending and implement wholesale economic reforms, including the introduction of a reformed tax regime.
Donors have also expressed concern about alleged corruption and misuse of funds.
Officials said the federal ministers submitted their resignations to enable Gilani to announce a new cabinet in line with decisions taken recently by the PPP's central executive committee.During his address, Gilani paid tribute to the members of his cabinet and thanked them for their support.

Prime Minister did not say when a new cabinet would be formed. Analysts believe the PPP will face difficulties in striking deals with its coalition partners to accommodate members in a smaller cabinet mandated by the 18th constitutional amendment.The outgoing cabinet had 52 members and Gilani is expected to form a new team with over 20 ministers.During a meeting of the PPP's central executive committee on 4th February, party chief and President Asif Ali Zardari had authorised Gilani to dissolve the cabinet at a time of his choosing.In his address, Gilani referred to the formation of the PPP-led government after the 2008 general election and said: "When we took over, we found this country in very difficult circumstances. The country was facing an economic meltdown and terrorism in which doubts were expressed on the sustainability of Pakistan as a nation."

"We successfully together steered this nation towards a sustainable path of economic recovery by initiating both short-term and long-term policies such as rationalisation of subsidies and a tremendous boost in the agricultural sector," he said.Gilani listed the achievements of the government, saying foreign exchange reserves were at an "all time high" of over USD 17 billion while the stock exchange index had risen from 5,000 points three years ago to over 12,000 points.The government, he said, will continue to work to take Pakistan "out of troubled waters towards a sustainable path"

Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) said on Wednesday that the government needed to do far more to curb spending than simply appointing a new cabinet."We have demanded a 30-percent reduction in government expenditure. So far we are disappointed. The 45-day period will be over before the end of the month but they have done nothing tangible," said party spokesman Siddiqul Farooq.

"We may think seriously about making an appeal to the people of Pakistan to demand fresh elections. We have to see the size and the credibility of the new cabinet members. Only then can we say whether it fulfills our demand."

Jamaat-i-Islami said that up to 90 people enjoyed ministerial perks including advisors and special assistants to those holding the cabinet portfolios."It was a huge burden on our economy and the national exchequer," party spokesman Farid Paracha said."They must cut their lavish spending and curtail non development expenditure by at least 30 percent because the economy is heading towards collapse, Paracha added."

Analysts were also sceptical, saying the resignations are unlikely to satisfy the IMF and international donors.