——– Federal Ministers include PML-N’s Ishaq Dar and Khawaja Asif, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool, IPP’s Aleem Khan, and ex-Punjab CM Naqvi
——– PM chairs first meeting of Federal Cabinet
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday administered the oath to a 19-member federal cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Earlier today, PM Shehbaz had 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.
According to a summary sent by the premier to President Zardari, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the cabinet includes 12 MNAs and three senators as federal ministers, as well as a minister of state. Three technocrats — Muhammad Aurangzeb, Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema are also included in the cabinet.
The proposal for the appointment had been made under clause 1 of Article 92 (federal ministers and ministers of state) of the Constitution, which states: “Subject to clauses 9 and 10 of Article 91, the president shall appoint federal ministers and ministers of state from amongst the members of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) on the advice of the prime minister.”
Attaullah said the portfolios of the federal ministers would be announced shortly. Talking to reporters in Islamabad after he took his oath, Tarar said the prime minister would address the cabinet members as well.
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.
While the grapevine is rife with speculation about who will get what portfolio, sources had said that except Dar, all of the above would retain theirs.
Although both Ishaq Dar and HBL chief Muhammad Aurangzeb had been participating in recent meetings on the economic situation, the appointment of the latter as a minister has strengthened reports of him heading the national kitty.
The letter written by PM Shehbaz said that Dar and Malik “shall continue in office as federal ministers” after ceasing to be members of the Senate tomorrow (Tuesday). Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party leader Aleem Khan and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui are also among the newly sworn-in federal ministers.
Former caretaker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is also currently the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, is also among the ministers. A Dawn report stated he is in the run for interior minister and has admitted that he would be a candidate for the upcoming Senate elections.
Other federal ministers include PML-N’s Jam Kamal Khan, Amir Muqam, Sardar Awais Leghari, Attaullah Tarar, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh and Riaz Hussain Pirzada, as well as the PML-Q’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain.
Former PM’s aide Ahad Khan Cheema has also been sworn in as a federal minister while Shaza Fatima Khawaja, ex-PM’s aide on youth affairs, has been appointed as a minister of state.
Attaullah is tipped to be the new information minister while Khawaja is being named as a minister for IT.
A source in the PM’s Office had told Dawn that the prime minister held a marathon meeting on Sunday, which continued late into the night, to finalise the names of his new ministers. Earlier, the MQM-P had demanded three to four ministries in the federal cabinet.
The newly inducted cabinet later held its first meeting at the Prime Minister’s House.
