Pakistan’s new federal cabinet sworn in

President Mamnoon Hussain administering the oath of the office to Federal Cabinet at President House on August 20, 2018. (Photo by PID)

Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi was also present when President Mamnoon Hussain was administering the oath of the office to Federal Cabinet at President House on August 20, 2018. (Photo by PID)

• President Mamnoon Hussain administered oath to 16 of the 21 members in the new cabinet on Monday
• Prime Minister Imran Khan’s federal cabinet comprises of 21 ministers and five advisers to guide him in his endeavor to bring sweeping reforms

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s newly instated federal cabinet was sworn in on Monday in a simple, yet elegant ceremony at President House in Islamabad.
President Mamnoon Hussain administered oath to 16 of the 21 members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s new federal cabinet.
The newly elected premier, Imran Khan, Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser, other leaders of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), and notable political and social personalities also attended.
In addition to the 21 ministers, Khan’s federal cabinet includes five advisers selected to guide him as he attempts to bring sweeping reforms across the country and build a welfare state.
Key advisory body figures are Muhammad Shehzad Arbab, adviser on Establishment; Abdul Razak Dawood, Commerce, Textile and Industry; Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Institutional Reforms and Austerity; Malik Amin Aslam, Climate Change; and Babar Awan, Parliamentary Affairs.
The PM has retained several key ministerial portfolios to ensure his commitments made to the nation in his inaugural speech on Sunday bears fruit.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi will head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a position he also held during the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) administration.
The Finance Ministry portfolio has been entrusted to Asad Umar, a highly successful business executive, while the ruling party’s spokesman Fawad Chaudhry will head the ministry of information and broadcasting.
The Human Rights portfolio has been given to Khan’s staunch loyalist Dr. Shireen Mazari, Ministry of Petroleum to Ghulam Sarwar Khan, and Ministry of Defense to former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.
Harvard graduate and veteran politician Shafqat Mehmood will spearhead federal education and professional training in addition to the national history and literary heritage division portfolio.
Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar is minister of water resources, Amir Mehmood Kiyani has been given national health services, regulations and coordination.
Coalition partners have also been given ministerial positions. Ministry for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony went to Noorul Haq Qadri, inter-provincial coordination to Dr. Fehmida Mirza, railways to Sheikh Rashid, law and justice to Farogh Naseem, states and frontier to Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema, information technology and telecommunication to Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and defense production to Zubaida Jalal.
The new Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired his first federal cabinet meeting at midday after the ceremony.