Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim has succeeded in getting the status of 'Senior Federal Minister' after about two-and-a-half years of prolonged wait, sources told Business Recorder. "The government has clarified its position about the status of Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Commerce Minister, by notifying him as 'Senior Federal Minister', through a notification," said an official spokesman.
As the notification about Amin Fahim surfaced after two-and-a-half or three years of his induction in the federal cabinet, the strength of 'senior federal ministers' is now two, as Pervez Elahi of PML-Q is also 'senior minister' for Industries and Defence Production.
The status of senior federal minister has been granted to Fahim from November 8, 2008, the day he joined the federal cabinet, despite the fact that most of his loyalists and friends in the party were unhappy over this unexpected development.
Initially, Amin was the principal candidate for the slot of prime minister, but some of his very close friends in the party, including the top leadership, sidelined him through a mudslinging campaign against him.