BEIRUT: A member in MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary bloc Thursday criticized Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s decision to suspend Cabinet meetings following a dispute with pro-Aoun ministers.

“The prime minister’s position is political and he timed it so that it came before his trip to Paris,” Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Salhab told the Kataeb-run Voice of Lebanon radio station.

He argued that ministers from Aoun’s bloc “cannot be just an image in Cabinet without voicing their opinion.”

“Instead,” he said, the Aoun-affiliated ministers “should play a role and be involved in decision-making.”

A Cabinet session Wednesday was suspended over sharp differences between Mikati and pro-Aoun ministers over the thorny issue of civil service appointments.

Salhab said Cabinet ministers have the right to agree or disagree on the names put forward by Mikati.

“In line with the Constitution,” he said, “any decision must be taken by Cabinet and not by the prime minister.”