LAHORE: The federal cabinet is likely to be expanded in a couple of weeks as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has begun implementing its election strategy with the inclusion of 11 more ministers in the Punjab cabinet.

The other ingredients of the approach include a creation of a `flood of lower-scale jobs` in the near future as well as accommodating several `leftover` biradaries against posts of chairmen/mayors of local governments in Punjab.

`The federal cabinet is most likely to be expanded in 12 days as representation of various biradaries in the present federal and Punjab cabinets is being considered,` a senior party leader privy to the developmenttold Dawn.

Admitting that the cabinet expansion was overdue and the party leadership had been facing pressure for filling portfolios lying vacantforthe pastthreeand ahalfyears,he said the job was being done now as a part of the 2018 election strategy.

He said the election strategy was being discussed to make both cabinets maximum possible representative.

Those left out in the process would be accommodated in the distribution of chairmanship of district councils, municipal corporation/committees, etc, he added.

When asked why Lahore had been `overrepresented` with five ministers, including the chief minister, in the provincial cabinet from the district, he said the compulsion was to create a balance in the Arain and Kashmiri biradaries, while it was this city where workers had mostly stood openly with the leadership during the Gen Musharraf government.

The of ficial claimed that a `flood of lowerscale vacancies` in the government departments would be created during the election year when development works would be undertaken on a war footing to lure voters.