PM Imran Khan finalises 20-member federal cabinet

ISLAMABAD:  Hours after taking oath as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan announced the names of his 20-member federal cabinet, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The cabinet has important ministries divided among Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members while some of the ministries also went to PTI’s allies, the MQM-P, AML,  PML-Q and Sindh’s Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).

MQM-P’s Farogh Nasim got law ministry, AML Chief Sheikh Rasheed got the Railways Ministry while PML-Q’s Tariq Basheer Cheema got the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions.

As expected, PTI’s Asad Umar was entrusted with Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Human Rights went to Shireen Mazari while former KP CM Pervez Khattak was entrusted with the Defence Ministry.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi was made the Minister for Foreign Affairs while Fawad Chaudhry was entrusted with the Information Ministry.

 

The list issued by party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry also lists the five advisers chosen by PM as Shehzad Arbab, Abdul Razak Dawood, former State Bank Governer Ishrat Hussain, Amin Aslam and Babar Awan.

Earlier in the day, Imran Khan took oath as country’s 2nd prime minister in a simple ceremony at the President House.

For the cricket legend-turned-politician, his party’s first place in a national election and becoming country’s prime minister, is the culmination of a battle that started more than two decades ago.

For years, he was dismissed as a political dilettante who could not convert his personal popularity into significant seats in parliament for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

But July 25 elections dramatically changed that, putting the former sports star on the brink of power. The PTI party won the most seats in July’s elections – setting up Mr Khan to become PM with the help of small parties, more than two decades after he first entered politics.