Second Shehbaz Sharif government

After the 2024 general elections in Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif's second government was formed. Shehbaz Sharif from the Pakistan Muslim League-N was elected as the Prime Minister. President Asif Ali Zardari took the oath of office. The new Cabinet composition has been described as a "Lean", with its composition being influenced by the need of the new government to respond quickly to the current economic crisis. The Cabinet includes PML-N, MQM(P), PML(Q), IPP and independents.

The cabinet is riddled with controversy, as opposition parties have alleged severe rigging in the government's election, as well as that many members of the government have been accused of corruption.

Cabinet formation
On March 6 the Cabinet Division issued the de-notification of the caretaker cabinet. The next day PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar said that the federal cabinet would be finalized within the next 48 hours. Adding that HBL President Muhammad Aurangzeb would be considered for the financial portfolio, remarking “The most important portfolio is the finance ministry as the economy has to be revived and the matters with the IMF will have to be taken forward." Shehbaz Sharif would host a dinner together with leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) over Federal Cabinet finalization. PML-N would request for the PPP to join the cabinet, however Bilawal Bhutto would announce that it would support PML-N in government formation without joining cabinet, addressing PPP's CEC meeting “The PPP has decided that while we are not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor will we be interested in taking ministries in such a set-up, we also do not want to see political chaos in the country. We do not want to see perpetual crisis in the country,” he said. On March 9 Nawaz Sharif directed Shehbaz Sharif to implement the parties manifesto after the formation of the federal cabinet. Later Nawaz would direct the PM to keep the federal cabinet small in the initial phase. During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif would table the proposed names of the Federal Cabinet to the PML-N leader. Four-time finance minister and Sharif family associate Ishaq Dar would drop out the race for the position of Minister of Finance & Revenue. According to the Tribune, an anonymous PML-N leader claimed that the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as Interior Minister would "erode the government's credibility", according to another anonymous PML-N leader, Ishaq Dar was not chosen due to the PM's preference for a new Finance minister.

Prior to the inauguration of the Federal Cabinet, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly tied cabinet formation as a pre-condition for the sending of an IMF team to Pakistan to negotiate and finalize another bailout from the Fund.

On March 11 President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the PM's 19-member federal cabinet. The proposals for appointment was made under clause 1 of Article 92 (federal ministers and ministers of state) of the Constitution. On the same day Muhammad Aurangzeb, the new finance minister would renounce his Dutch nationality and be granted Pakistani nationality as well as resign from his position as CEO of Habib Bank Limited. The nineteen member cabinet includes many veteran politicians and newcomers. Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema, former caretaker ministers would be included amongst other PML-N stalwarts. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the President's House (Aiwan-i-Sadr). On March 12 the new Federal cabinet members assumed charge after allocation of their portfolios. The new cabinet was criticized for sidelining some members of the elected coalition, seen in the absence of Ishaq Dar in the financial portfolio and Rana Sanaullah as interior minister, traditional supporters of Nawaz Sharif. Shehbaz Sharif's position as Prime Minister has also been seen as to maintain strong relations with the military and ensuring its influence in administration. The military's backing of the new cabinet composition has also been seen as a way to send a message against the political opposition that attempts to undermine the new government will be met with force and push through reforms, such as through the SIFC.

Cabinet Division and Cabinet Secretariat
The current Federal Secretary of the Cabinet is Kamran Ali Afzal, since his appointment in August 2023. On 20 March the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority (NSDRA) and Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority were both placed under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division. The Cabinet Secretariat is directly under the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary, controlling the Aviation Division, Cabinet Division, Establishment Division, National Security Division and Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division.

Cabinet Committees
On 21 March the Cabinet Division would issue two separate notifications constituting the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE), by the Prime Minister under terms of rule 17(2) of Rules of Business, 1973. Both would be retained directly under Shehbaz Sharif, becoming Chairman of both committees. On the same day Shehbaz would also approve the reconstitution of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP), with MoFA Ishaq Dar as Chairman with the secretarial support of the Committee provided by the Aviation Division; and the reconstitution of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs), with Minister of Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb as Chairman. Additional Committees constituted on 21 March include the Cabinet Committee on Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) under Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Cabinet Committee on Chinese Investment Projects (CCoCIP) under Ahsan Iqbal, and a committee to "speed up" the privatization of Pakistan International Airways (PIA) under Khawaja Asif. With forty-eight hours, on 23 March the Cabinet Division issued a notification, appointing Muhammad Aurangzeb as new Chairman of the ECC, with Shehbaz Sharif withdrawing from the committee Previously Aurangzeb held chairmanship of only the Cabinet Committee on SOEs (CCoSOEs), while Ishaq Dar also held a prominent role in the new cabinet committees as chairman of Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP). This was a departure from past practices, where finance ministers chaired three out of four committees. With Shahbaz Rana writing that the "PM had "clipped" the Finance Minister’s "decision-making wings" by depriving him of the ECC. The decision to place Aurangzeb as chairman also came after criticism from "all quarters." Pakistan newspaper Dawn, quoting a senior member of the cabinet officially stated that the PM had “regretted he would be unable to chair the ECC meetings due to his hectic schedule and engagements.” On 28 March the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) would be constituted, chaired by Khawaja Asif, with Terms of Reference (ToR) that the committee may authorize, recommend approval, and constitute a negotiation committee for a G2G or commercial agreement with a foreign state, as well as approve price-discovery mechanisms, submit recommendations for existing regulatory compliance. Operating under the clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of Section (4) of the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act, 2022.

Federal Ministers
On March 18, Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari was relieved from his portfolio as Minister for Railways in favour for taking over the Ministry of Energy, formerly under Musadik Malik. On 29 March, Amir Muqam was relieved of his additional portfolio as Federal Minister of National Heritage and Culture, instead taking over the Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan portfolio.

On April 4 five portfolios were assigned to different federal ministers previously held by the prime minister, Aleem Khan was given the additional portfolio of communications, Chaudhry Salik Hussain was allocated Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Rana Tanveer Hussain allocated Food Security & Research, Ahsan Iqbal was allocated inter-provincial coordination and Musadik Malik was allocated water resources.

MNA Ali Pervaiz was appointed as a Minister of State with the allocated portfolios of Finance & Revenue, with an additional portfolio of the Power Division on 17 May.

Deputy Prime Minister
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan through a notification from the Cabinet Division, this after the post had remained vacant for the past eleven years. Arifa Noor speculated in Dawn this was the result of Nawaz Sharif planning to reassert himself due to Ishaq Dar's "proximity" with Nawaz.

Federal Advisers
Rana Sanaullah was appointed adviser to the prime minister on 30 April, approved by President Asif Ali Zardari. Speaking on a Geo News programme he confirmed that he had a meeting with the Prime Minister to include him the federal government. This was seen as a shift in party dynamics and the increasing influence of the Nawaz Sharif factions influence in the coalition government and coinciding with the appoint of another "trusted ally" of Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar as Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan. On 22 May Rana Sanaullah was given the Inter-provincial coordination portfolio.

Federal Coordinators
On 28 March both Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath and Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan received appointments from circulars issued by the Cabinet Division. Mukhtar Ahmad appointed Coordinator to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and Rana Mashhood as Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Prime Minister's Youth Programme, both in an "honorary" capacity. The next day on the 29th, Rana Mashhood was appointed Chairman of the Youth Programme, also in an honorary capacity.

Later on 3 April Shehbaz Sharif appointed further coordinators Romina Khurshid Alam (Climate Change and Environmental coordination), Shabbir Ahmed Usmani (Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan) and Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan on 'general issues'. The government claimed that the coordinators would not be part of the Federal Cabinet and work on an honorary basis.

Council of Common Interests
On 25 March 2024 Shehbaz Sharif reconstituted the eight-member Council of Common Interests (CCI) as chairman after a notification was issued. The Prime Minister inducted Khawaja Asif (Defense), Amir Muqam (SAFRON), and Ishaq Dar (Foreign Affairs) into the Council. The composistion of the CCI marked the first time a foreign minister had been designated a member, replacing the membership of the finance minister. Abdullah Niazi an editor at Profit claimed that Muhammad Aurangzeb's role in the Cabinet was being undermined by Ishaq Dar, further remarking that the inclusion of Khwaja Asif and Engineer Amir Muqam might indicate Shehbaz Sharif's focus on giving party loyalists greater influence. According to Mushtaq Ghumman, finance ministers were not always included in the CCI however energy and planning ministers were. In the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government under Shehbaz Sharif the finance minister was not included in the CCI. Attaullah Tarar on March 29 would state that “nobody has been replaced or substituted," referencing the constitutional procedure of the CCI.

Summaries submitted by different ministries and provincial governments were returned for later resubmission following the re-constitution of the Council. CCI Secretary Omer Rasul stated that the summaries forwarded by ministries, divisions and provincial governments did not conform with the guidelines demarcated in Rules of Procedure of CCI (2010) and were ambiguous whether such cases fell within the purview of the CCI.

National Economic Council
On June 7, 2024 President Asif Ali Zardari reconstituted the National Economic Council (NEC) of Pakistan under clause (1) of Article 156 of the constitution of Pakistan. The NEC being chaired by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and includes the chief ministers of Sindh, KPK, Punjab and Balochistan, federal ministers, nominated provincial ministers and federal secretaries. On 10 June the NEC approved CPEC proposals and investment projects related to the then upcoming federal budget, and was submitted a five-year plan.

Future plans
The prime minister has initially decided to keep his cabinet small, but in the second phase more ministers will be inducted. The new cabinet has claimed that it plans to tackle a number of issues as Pakistan grapples with an economic crisis, regular power cuts, rising militant attacks and strained relations with neighboring Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. On March 15 Shehbaz Sharif was presented with an 'economic roadmap', briefing measures related to electricity, agriculture and livestock, export sector, medium and small scale industry, taxation, information technology, investment and privatization. Inflation reduction, poverty alleviation and employment and the digitization and innovation in revenue collection and agriculture were also included. The Prime Minister directed that actions should be taken on a priority basis to increase the capacity of various sectors, continuing on his wish that all stakeholders of different sectors of the economy to be consulted on the plan. He also added that the implementation of these plans should be ensured without wasting time and a schedule be prepared. Sharif would say that the country would have to be stabilized and put on the path of development in the next five years. The PM Shehbaz would also seek a detailed roadmap to increase the volume of Information Technology (IT) service exports to more than $3 billion. Sharif would state that the government would take steps to fully avail the potential for IT and provide young people with the required facilities for education, skills development and startups. In addition, he laid emphasis on the swift resolution of banking issues faced by start-ups, freelancers and IT companies. Other measures of the economic road-map include; setting up free Daanish Schools models nationally, setting a minimum benchmark for commercial banks to extend loans to SME-based industrial parks, direct fertilizer subsidies to farmers, providing farmers in rural areas with quality seeds from international producers, facilitating farmers in operating tube-wells on solar energy, having oil & gas companies set up subsidiaries for renewable energy projects and making available funds for students securing admissions to international universities. Musadik Malik claimed that the combination of three steps, (i) direct fertilizer subsidy, (ii) supply of quality seeds, and (iii) solar-powered tube-wells would help materialize a "green revolution" and "triple" productivity in a couple of years. Adding that every year the project would be scaled up. These agricultural policies claim to remove middlemen and monopolistic seed companies from the equation and the existing practice of providing cheap gas to manufacturers who in turn pass on only a partial amount to the farmers. The five-year roadmap has been criticized as an inflexible and an antiquated economic strategy drawn from the legacy of the 1960s and 1970s with its permits, licenses, voucher schemes, nationalisation, credit allocations, government intervention, etc, being likened to the new roadmap.

Shehbaz Sharif would direct Ministry of Finance (MoF) to immediately explore possibility of Panda Bonds to shore up depleting foreign exchange reserves. The new finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb would state that successful talks with the IMF would be vital and work to initiate a larger and longer EFF programme. He also remarked he was optimistic in an SBP policy rate decrease and set end-to-end digitisation in the FBR as a high priority to plug leakages, increase tax-to-GDP ratio and create fiscal space in the government. A public-private partnership model in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the fixing of SOEs and bringing in investment through the SIFC were also mentioned. Despite the claim of a rate decrease, the SBP upheld the status quo of 22% on March 18. He reiterated his commitment to reform with an IMF mission led by Nathan Porter and EU ambassador Dr Riina Kionka. Shehbaz Sharif discussed bilateral issues including regional security and economic reforms with US ambassador Donald Blome Minister for Privatisation, Abdul Aleem Khan would claim that due to the current circumstances of the economy, 15-20 institutions must be privatized. On March 11, Shehbaz Sharif would increase the allocation of the Ramazan Relief Package from Rs 7.5 billion to Rs 12.5 billion, the price of atta and ghee had been reduced by Rs77 kg and Rs100 per kg at the Utility Stores Corporation (USC). He also claimed that the price of other commodities such as rice and pulse had been reduced by 30%. The distribution of the Ramzan Package would be undertaken by 300 USC outlets and 1,200 mobile USC centres. Under the Kifalat programme families in Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK and Balochistan were to be provided with Rs2,000. The rate of Nisab for Zakat 1444-45 A.H (2023-2024) would be fixed at Rs135,179, compared to last Ramazan's Nisab of Rs103,159. According to a plan presented to the PM, the privatization programme would occur in three phases (1 year, 1-3 year, and 3-5 year), with the following guidelines; (i) loss-making commercial SOEs to be privatized on priority, (ii) reducing footprint of Federal Govt to commercial SOES having "national and strategic" interest, (iii) profitable SOEs shall be identified to reduce federal footprint in the economy, and (iv) issues related to SOEs included in active privatization list to be resolved by concerned Ministries/Divisions on priority. A seven member committee would be constituted by the PM to present a plan for reduction in government expenditure. With the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the committee including down-sizing the Federal government, identifying other schemes useful in reducing government expenditure, preparing austerity strategy, implementation and a timeline. The committee has sought to rationalise expenditure on pensions and development, which covers 16% of the annual budget, but has not included the defense budget or the expenditure on interest payments which consume nearly two-thirds of the total federal budget. The omission of both defense and interest payment budgets has been said to limit the committees the capacity to effect meaningful change and challenge the forecasted deficit of Rs8.5 trillion.

On March 16, despite the protest of the opposition Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers the National Assembly passed 120-day extensions for seven ordinances, those being: (i) Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Amendment Ordinance 2023; (ii) Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Amendment Ordinance 2023; (iii) Pakistan Postal Services Management Board Amendment Ordinance 2023; (iii) National Highway Authority Amendment Ordinance 2023; (iv) Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance 2023; (v) Privatization Commission Amendment Ordinance 2023; and (vi) Establishment of Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal Ordinance 2023. The Minister of Law Azam Nazeer Tarar also laid two new bills - “the Civil Courts Amendment Bill, 2024” and the “Legal Aid and Justice Authority Amendment Bill, 2024" to be referred to concerned future committees. Opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan termed the ordinances as "mischief" in the law and claimed that the ordinances would have serious financial implications. “There are talks of selling these institutions of Pakistan, we are going on record on that,” he added. The minister for law and justice defended the ordinances saying they would be discussed in house committees yet to be formed. Objections were also raised by PPP and JUI-F party members over the presentation of the resolution, however both parties voted in favor for the 120-day extension of the seven ordinances. A six-man committee would be formed by Shehbaz Sharif, claiming to work to "provide justice" to the common man and tax recovery. “The committee will make recommendations regarding removal of criminal, civil and constitutional hurdles in cases. The committee will also consult with coalition parties and other political parties,” remarked Azam Nazeer. The FBR has announced to introduce taxes on non-filers for sale and purchase of plots and register the housing societies, following the direction of the IMF to incorporate the real estate sector into the tax net as to meet the Federal Board of Revenue's target collection of Rs9,415 billion. The FBR has also partnered with Karandaaz Pakistan for the Digitalization of Tax System. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Karandaaz and the Finance Minister, with the CEO of Karandaaz claiming "that the whole nation will benefit from the dividends of this digital transformation."

On March 20 the cabinet was convened to discuss IMF negotiations. Shehbaz Sharif also claimed that he and his cabinet would no longer draw their salaries to promote austerity. The Second Shehbaz Sharif ministry has stated its goals of trying to reform the country’s state of affairs, however this is amongst on-going allegations of corruption and fraud spearheaded by Sunni Ittehad parliamentarians affiliated with PTI.

Allegations of Corruption
The Pakistani leader of opposition, Omar Ayub Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have accused Shehbaz Sharif of corruption, and his formation of a government ministry as rigged and fraudulent. Imran Khan, Omar Ayub, and the PTI have accused Shehbaz’s first and second government of poor governance, corruption and fascism. His coming into power and second ministry is under allegations of rigging through faulty electoral process. A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Spokesperson rejected the cabinet as fake and unconstitutional, claiming it to be based on a stolen mandate. Further claiming the inclusion of people like Mohsin Naqvi in the federal cabinet proved the unconstitutional role of the caretaker government and Election Commission.

Federal Minister Amir Muqam was accused of purchasing properties in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, and agricultural land in Swat, Shangla and Peshawar in 2019, with inquiries started against him in 2018. In 2023 he was absolved of corruption charges after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) closed its inquiry. Awais Leghari was accused of corruption in land dealings during his tenure as chairman of the South Punjab Forest Company in 2018, but was acquitted in 2023, with his lawyer claiming a lack of evidence. Leghari claimed he was being "victimized" through a fabricated case. In 2018 the National Accountability Bureau launched a probe against Riaz Hussain Pirzada on corruption charges. Pirzada claimed that the allegations were shocking to him and called them "much disappointing." No other inquiries or probes have been launched against Pirzada. In 2019 Ahad Cheema was indicted in a corruption reference for possessing assets beyond known means of income. In 2023 Ahad Cheema was acquitted by the Accountability Court from the Aashiana Iqbal reference case. Khawaja Asif would be arrested in 2020 for an assets beyond known sources of income and money laundering case. Later he was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC). On December 23, 2019 Ahsan Iqbal was arrested by NAB related to alleged corruption in Narowal Sports City (NSC) Project. In 2022 the Islamabad High Court (IHC) exonerated Ahsan Iqbal from his corruption charges, with the IHC chief justice claiming that the NAB case was an example of political engineering, amongst other claims of faulty evidence as well as arguing that Ahsan Iqbal had acted within his authority as Minister for Planning.

Rana Tanvir Hussain would be arrested on April 17, 2002 and fined Rs6.9 million for acquiring assets disproportionate to his legitimate income. The Punjab NAB produced 16 witnesses to support the charges, Rana Tanvir produced 26 witnesses in his defence. Following the probing of revenue transactions of Aleem Khan, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) lodged a FIR against him. Alleged charges included fraudulently occupying land, misappropriating state land, use of forged allotment letters in commercial real-estate transactions Aleem Khan he claimed that the allegations were politically motivated and 'frivolous'. On July 31, 2023 the NAB closed the inquiry against him under new amendments introduced to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. On 6 February 2019 Aleem Khan was also arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in an asset beyond known sources of income case. On October 3, 2018 an Islamabad Court allowed the NAB to seize the bank accounts, seize properties and auction assets of Ishaq Dar, who fled the country following a corruption investigation launched against him. The previous year Dar was declared a fugitive after fleeing. On September 23, 2024 his arrest warrant was suspended. Following his the suspension of his arrest warrant, Ishaq Dar returned by Nur Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi after a five year exile. Dar was also sworn in as a Senator again on September 27. Imran Khan alleged he returned through an NRO and criticized his fourth appointment as Finance Minister. Two days following his Senatorial oath taking, an accountability court reversed its order, declaring Dar to no longer be a proclaimed offender. On November 22 the accountability court closed the proceedings on the reference and returned the case file to the National Accountability Bureau. In 2023 the assets-beyond-means reference case was revived, and an accountability court summoned him for October 10. Later on October 2023 cleared of all charges, NAB Prosecutor Afzal Qureshi stated the Bureau no longer wanted to pursue the case and claimed "there was no proof" of corruption. Shehbaz Sharif has been accused of money laundering, receiving backing from the military, granting them formal economic powers, running a "hybrid pro-max" regime, and his victory following a controversial election.