- Shaza Fatima Khawaja made federal minister for IT.
- Hanif Abbasi assigned portfolio of Railways.
- With fresh appointments, size of PM’s team swelled to 50.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assigned portfolios to 24 newly inducted ministers, state ministers and advisers in his federal cabinet.
Besides allotting portfolios to four new special assistants, the premier also reassigned the ministries of some of the cabinet members.
Setting aside tall claims of austerity drive and cut in government’s expenditure, the premier last week inducted new members into his team, increasing it from 25 to 50.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division today, federal minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has been given the portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs, while Ali Pervaiz Malik and Shaza Fatima Khawaja made the federal ministers of Petroleum and Information Technology, respectively.
Portfolios assigned to other federal ministers are:
- Hanif Abbasi — Railways
- Moeen Watto — Water Resources
- Mustafa Kamal — National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination
- Sardar Yousuf — Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony
- Aurangzeb Katchi — National Heritage & Culture
- Rana Mubashir — Public Affairs Unit
- Raza Hayat Hiraj — Defence Production
- Junaid Anwar — Maritime Affairs
- Khalid Magsi — Science & Technology
Similarly, state ministers Barrister Aqeel Malik, Bilal Azhar Kayani and Talal Chaudhry have been given portfolios of Law & Justice, Railways and Interior & Narcotics Control, respectively.
Interestingly, Pervez Khattak — once a close aide of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister — has been appointed as Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior affairs.
In addition to this, two more advisers — Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah and Muhammad Ali — were also added to the cabinet, increasing the number of advisers to the prime minister to seven.
Special Assistants to the Prime Minister (SAPMs) include Haroon Akhtar, who has been given the portfolio of Industries and Production; Huzaifa Rehman, National Heritage and Culture; Mubarak Zeb, Tribal Affairs; and Talha Burki, Political Affairs.
It is pertinent to mention here that President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the new federal cabinet members in the ceremony attended by PM Shehbaz, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani and senior officials.
