- PM doesn’t seem in charge of his Cabinet
Prime Minister Imran Khan told his ministers to do two things: to improve their performance, and to resign if they did not agree with the performance of the government. These two things are supposed to be basic factors: the ministers must perform if they are to retain their jobs, and they must observe the principle of Cabinet responsibility. That the PM must say them during a Cabinet meeting indicates that he himself may not be able to enforce the requisite discipline. It should be remembered that he would not be able to fire the MNAs in his Cabinet because of the thinness of his majority in Parliament, or even because they have been nominated by one of his coalition components and thus are not his to name or dismiss. At the same time, the way this nugget of information was leaked indicates that he himself is not observing the prime minister’s role in maintaining Cabinet responsibility: refraining from criticism. After all, if the prime minister does not like how a minister is doing, he is free to dismiss him or her. Or is he? It would seem that some of the people on his team, particularly among those who have not been elected MNAs, have been named because they are nominees of certain institutions whose good side Mr Khan wants to stay on.
Mr Khan’s sentiments have reportedly originated in response to criticism of his handling of the Hazara issue, which was less than deft. However, he should remember that attempts must not be made to inhibit free discussion in Cabinet, especially since there have been no attempts, apparently, to make public such criticism. Cabinet responsibility should not be taken to mean personal loyalty, important component of the former as the latter might be. They say a lazy workman blames his tools. Mr Khan must avoid this.
However, having forgiven such outbursts in the past, Mr Khan risked them being repeated. Mr Khan must remember that relying so much on unelected advisers and special assistants would be ill-advised as they do not face re-election from constituencies and hence do not face pressure to perform. Mr Khan’s warning may be dismissed by ministers who think it comes from his wanting to seem to be addressing the problem of non-performance, even as he shirks taking the necessary action.
