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President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to a 19-member federal cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday.
Today, PM Shehbaz sent a summary to President Zardari to appoint the cabinet, comprising 18 federal ministers and a minister of state.
The PML-N’s main ally, the PPP, has refused to become part of the federal cabinet.
The oath-taking ceremony took place at the President House in Islamabad. The national anthem was played to inaugurate the ceremony, following which the Holy Quran was recited.
Cabinet Composition:
- Federal Ministers:
- Khawaja Muhammad Asif, MNA
- Ahsan Iqbal Chaudry, MNA
- Rana Tanveer Hussain, MNA
- Azam Nazeer Tarar, Senator
- Chaudhry Salik Hussain, MNA
- Abdul Aleem Khan, MNA
- Jam Kamal Khan, MNA
- Amir Muqam, MNA
- Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, MNA
- Attaullah Tarar, MNA
- Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MNA
- Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, MNA
- Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, MNA
- Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Senator
- Musadik Masood Malik, Senator
- Muhammad Aurangzeb
- Ahad Khan Cheema
- Mohsin Naqvi
- Minister of State:
- Shaza Fatima Khawaja
Notable Figures:
- Familiar faces returning include ex-defence minister Khawaja Asif, former finance minister Ishaq Dar, ex-planning minister Ahsan Iqbal, former law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and ex-state minister for petroleum Musadik Malik.
- Dar and Malik “shall continue in office as federal ministers” after ceasing to be members of the Senate.
- Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party leader Aleem Khan and MQM-Pakistan’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui are among the newly sworn-in federal ministers.
- Mohsin Naqvi, former caretaker Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, is also among the ministers.
Speculation and Positions:
- Ishaq Dar and HBL chief Muhammad Aurangzeb’s participation in recent meetings on the economic situation has strengthened reports of Aurangzeb heading the national treasury.
- Mohsin Naqvi is in the running for interior minister and has expressed candidacy for upcoming Senate elections.
- Attaullah is tipped to be the new information minister while Khawaja might be named as the minister for IT.
PM’s Office Meetings:
- The prime minister held a marathon meeting on Sunday to finalize the names of his new ministers.
- Earlier, MQM-P had demanded three to four ministries in the federal cabinet.
Stay tuned for more updates on the new cabinet’s actions and policies.
