Old cabinet members prefer new portfolios in K-P

PESHAWAR: After having been nominated for the coveted post of K-P chief minister  by the PTI Chairman and now Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and subsequently being elected by the K-P Assembly, the new K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has moved to the next phase which is to select members of the provincial cabinet.

CM Mahmood  prefers  to include some new members in his team and allocate important portfolios. However, the senior ministers of the previous cabinet have expressed desire for new portfolios, instead of the ones which they had in Pervez  Khattak’s cabinet.

According to an internal party sources of PTI, Muhammad Atif Khan who was minister for elementary and secondary education and energy, is not interested in education this time.

Sources said that if party leadership does not compels him for the previous ministry, he would prefer to hold Ministry of Finance and Youth, Cultural, Tourism and Sports.

Similarly, former health minister Shahram Khan Taraki does not want to retain the old ministry of health insisting this time to be allotted ministry of planning and development and local government. The party sources informed that party has no other option for Taraki that’s why party leadership would try to convince him to run the health ministry as well.

This time Taimur Saleem Jhagara is being considered the most suitable for the ministry of education and it is expected that party leadership will assign him the ministries of elementary and secondary and higher education.

Jhagara contested the elections for the first time on a PTI ticket and won it. He is a well educated member of the assembly and a close friend of new PM Imran Khan.

Similarly, another MPA Kamran Khan Bangush would be considered  for the ministry of Information. Bangash  is also well educated and vocal member of the assembly. He was part of the local government in Peshawar while party awarded him ticket in this election for a provincial assembly seat.

Sources, further shared that Ishtiaq Urmer is interested to retain the same ministry of environment and forestry who he has in previous tenure.

He said that the party leadership may finalise the names of new cabinet members  today (Sunday) and will announce date of oath taking ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2018.