Defence Minister assigned foreign portfolio, to take charge as FM

Dastgir became defense minister after PM Abbasi formed new cabinet

The federal government assigned the foreign ministry portfolio to Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir on Friday after Khawaja Asif was ousted from the position last month.

Dastgir has been the minister of defence since August 2017 when Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi formed a new cabinet after the ouster of Nawaz Sharif. Dastgir has also served as the minister for commerce from 2014 to 2017.



The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader studied engineering from California Institute of Technology and economics from Bowdoin College before being elected into the National Assembly in 2008. After getting re-elected in 2013, he was first appointed the minister of state for science and technology, and minister of state for privatisation before taking office in Commerce in 2014.