F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Newly-appointed Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s cabinet was sworn in on Thursday at a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the 19-member interim federal cabinet. According to a document, 16 federal ministers, 6 special advisers and 3 advisers are part of the new cabinet.
Federal ministers: Senator Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti — Interior/ Overseas Pakistanis/ NARCO; Jalil Abbas Jilani — Foreign Affairs; Shamshad Akhtar — Finance and Revenue / Economic Affairs /Statistics/ Privatization; Lt General (retd) Anwar Ali Hyder — Defence/ Defence Production/ Aviation; Murtaza Solangi — Information and Broadcasting; Sami Saeed — Planning Development; Shahid Ashraf Tarar — Communication (Railways/ Postal Services/ Ports/ Maritime Affairs); Ahmad Irfan Aslam — Law and Justice / National Resources / Climate Change and Water; Muhammad Ali — Energy and Power / Petroleum; Gohar Ejaz — Commerce/ Textile / Industries / Production; Umar Saif — Information Technology and Telecommunication /Science and Technology; Nadeem Jan — National Health Services, Regulation and Control; Khalil George — National Health Services, Regulation and Control; Aneeq Ahmad — Religious Affairs/ Hajj/ Interfaith Harmony; Jamal Shah — National Heritage and Culture; Madad Ali Sindhi — Federal Education / National Harmony / Youth Affairs.
Advisers to PM: Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain Khan — Aviation; Ahad Khan Cheema — Establishment; Waqar Masood Khan — Finance; Mishal Hussain Malik — Human Rights / Women Empowerment; Jawad Sohrab Malik — Overseas; Vice Admiral (retd) Iftikhar Rao — Maritime Affairs; Wasih Shah — Tourism; Dr Jehanzeb Khan — Govt Effectiveness / SIFC Syeda Arifa Zehra — Education and National Harmony Affairs.
The ceremony started with the national anthem before the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and was attended by Intermin Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians and prominent figures from all walks of life.
Soon after the oath taking ceremony, the caretaker ministers, advisers and special advisers were assigned their portfolios by Interim Premier Kakar.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the prime minister awarded the portfolios of Finance and Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatisation to former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Shamshad Akhtar. Earlier this week, Dr Akhtar — who was also finance minister in the caretaker government prior to the 2018 general election — was conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz by President Alvi on Independence Day.
Former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani has been given the ministry of foreign affairs. She served as the SBP governor from January 2, 2006, for a three-year term, becoming the first woman to head the country’s central bank.
Meanwhile, Jilani has 38 years of bilateral and multilateral experience as a public servant and career diplomat, having served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Belgium, Luxemburg, the EU, and Australia.
Jilani was appointed foreign secretary in 2012, and while serving the post, he was closely involved in negotiations and finalisation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), signing the key agreements for the project during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang under the then-Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government.
Eminent textile industrialist and Chief Executive of Ejaz Group of Companies Dr Gohar Ejaz has been assigned portfolios of Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production. Furthermore, ministries of Interior, Overseas Pakistanis and NARCO has been assigned to Senator Sarfraz Bugti. Previously, he held the portfolio of minister of home and tribal affairs of Balochistan. Lieutenant General (retd) Anwar Ali Haider was given the portfolios of Defence, Defence Production and Aviation. Meanwhile, the caretaker prime minister has convened a maiden session of his cabinet on Friday (today).
Cabinet vows to cope with challenges
F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The members of the newly-appointed interim Federal Cabinet on Thursday vowed to cope with the challenges confronting the country and serve the masses within their short stint.
The 16-member interim cabinet members took the oath of office at a swearing-in ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, also attended by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and prominent figures from various sectors.
Talking to newsmen after his oath, Murtaza Solangi said that the masses would be ready to back the government if it succeeded to create closeness with them. The minister said if he were given the portfolio of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, he would strive to modernise the state media institutions, including the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan to make them cope with the modern trends. Talking to media, former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is also part of the interim cabinet, said the main objective of the foreign policy was to serve the national interests. He said the caretaker cabinet would strive to serve the country’s interest through national consensus and improve cordial ties with countries like China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and South Asian states, among others.
He said Pakistan should further strengthen its relationship with China being a strategic partner with great economic cooperation. Similarly, he said, the success of the Afghan government was also essential that should play its role to eliminate terrorism. Moreover, Jilani said, he also desired that Pakistan’s all longstanding disputes with India should be resolved peacefully including Kashmir, Sir Creek and water issues. Madad Ali Sindhi told the media that if given the portfolio of education and youth ministry, he, in cooperation with his team, would strive for the promotion of education in the country. He said the caretaker government would also address the issue of confrontation in student politics as disputes among the student unions adversely impacted the working of universities. Renowned actor and director Jamal Shah, who was also sworn in, said if given the portfolio of the culture ministry, he would serve to promote the country’s cultural heritage as coming from the same field, he was cognizant of the potential in the culture sector.
