Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s new caretaker cabinet takes oath

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s new 12-member strong interim cabinet, comprising nine ministers and two advisers and a special assistant, was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Saturday.

Governor Ghulam Ali administered the oath the caretaker cabinet’s new members. Caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan and others attended the ceremony.

The ministers include Syed Masud Shah, Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, retired Justice Irshad Qaiser, Ahmad Rasool Bangash, Asif Rafiq, Dr Najeebullah, Dr Mohammad Qasim Jan, retired Justice Arshad Hussain Shah and Syed Aamir Abdullah.

Dr Riaz Anwar and Dr Sarfaraz Ali Shah will be advisers to the chief minister, while Zafarullah Khan will serve as a special assistant to the chief minister.

Masud Shah, Mr Kakakhel, retired Justice Qaiser and Dr Anwar were part of the last caretaker cabinet as well.

On August 10, 19 members of the previous 25-member caretaker cabinet had tendered resignations from their posts due to their purported involvement in political activities. Rest of the members submitted their resignations to the chief minister a day later.

Earlier, two members of the previous cabinet had been shown the door on the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over their involvement in political activities. On July 31, the ECP had written a letter to the caretaker chief minister, stating that the government is bound by Article 218(3) of the Constitution to organize and conduct elections in a free, fair, transparent and impartial manner. – Our reporter and news agencies contributed to this report