ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman has demanded fresh elections in a video clip that appeared on social media websites on Monday, hours after local media reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was likely to unveil his new federal cabinet.
Rehman stood in the forefront of an anti-government campaign that brought down former prime minister Imran Khan and his administration while spearheading the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance.
Reports in the local media indicate, however, his Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party is not happy with the distribution of ministries within the new administration and may refuse to be part of the federal cabinet.
"The new government has been established for not more than a year," Rehman said while addressing a group of people with a microphone in his hand. "Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam has its own existence, identity and position within this setup. We are telling them [the government] that we need immediate elections."
The JUI-F chief said the opposition had brought down the previous administration of former prime minister Khan, adding it was now time to go back to people.
"If you believe there are issues with the election system that may give rise to the possibility of rigging once again, then benefit from these assemblies temporarily and bring electoral reforms," he continued. "But it may not be Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam's position to unnecessarily prolong our stay in power."
According to Marriyum Aurangzeb, the spokesperson of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, members of the federal cabinet are expected to take oath later today.
She told Dawn newspaper the PML-N would get 14 ministries while the Pakistan Peoples Party would take 11.
She maintained other allied parties would also be accommodated in the cabinet.
"It has also been learnt that JUI-F had demanded the presidential slot and expressed displeasure over giving one ministry each to the Awami National Party (ANP) and independent MNA Mohsin Dawar," Dawn reported.
The final shape of the federal cabinet is expected to emerge in the coming days.