Daniyal Aziz slips away cabinet's sworn-in over undesired portfolio

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Daniyal Aziz on Friday slipped away the sworn-in ceremony of newly formed federal cabinet for not receiving the desired ministry, ARY News reported.

According to sources, Daniyal had arrived at the President House here to take part in the oath-taking ceremony as he was among the newcomers in the cabinet. However, upon learning that he has been allotted a state ministry rather than a federal portfolio, he ducked out the venue.

He had expressed a desire for one of federal portfolios but the ruling party allotted him a state ministry, angering him over the party decision, sources said.

It is worth mentioning here that Daniyal had remained forefront in defence of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the Supreme Court proceedings with regard to Panama Papers case.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry had claimed that both PML-N leaders Talal Chaudhry and Daniyal Aziz were defending the former premier to make room for the federal cabinet.

Meanwhile, Talal Chaudhry has been assigned portfolio of State Minister for Interior.

It is pertinent to mention here that the incumbent Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s new cabinet took oath at President House this morning.

The new cabinet encompasses 28 federal ministers and 16 state ministers.

Comprising mostly old faces with some reallocation of key portfolios, the cabinet members sworn in after the ruling party’s indecision ended with regard to allotting the ministerial portfolios among the nominees.

However, former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is not part of the new cabinet after his refusal to be a minister to new government setup. Former Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has replaced Nisar by taking oath as Interior Minister.

Earlier this week, the oath-taking ceremony of new Federal Cabinet was after PML-N failed to decide the nominees for ministerial portfolios.