President Asif Ali Zardari presided over the oath-taking ceremony for a 19-member cabinet, as proposed earlier by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday.
Prominent individuals seen taking the oath included Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Mohsin Naqvi, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaza Fatima, Jam Kamal, and Aleem Khan, among others.
The ceremony took place at the President’s House, with President Zardari administering the oath. Initially, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif opted for a small cabinet, but plans for further inductions in the second phase are underway, according to Geo News.
Ishaq Dar, the former finance minister, assumed the role of foreign minister in the new cabinet, with Tariq Fatemi appointed as the special assistant to the prime minister on foreign affairs. Additionally, Aurangzeb Khan oversees the Finance Ministry, while Mohsin Naqvi is assigned the Interior Ministry.
Azam Tarar, a seasoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator, now heads the Ministry of Law, Attaullah Tarar serves as the information minister, and Khawaja Asif leads the Defense Ministry.
Musadik Malik takes charge of the Petroleum Ministry, while Shaza Fatima Khawaja leads the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
Ahad Cheema serves as an adviser to the prime minister for the Establishment Division, alongside former Balochistan CM Jam Kamal and PML-Quaid’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain, who join the federal cabinet, as reported by Geo News.
Abdul Aleem Khan, leader of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and PML-N politician Amir Muqam are also expected to be included in the federal cabinet.
Furthermore, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is set to receive two ministries in the federal cabinet.
The oath ceremony follows Prime Minister Shehbaz’s oath of office as the 24th premier of the country last week, with President Zardari sworn in as the head of state a day prior.
