Punjab Cabinet swells to 35 as 12 new ministers take oath

CM also appoints three advisers and five special assistants

LAHORE: The Punjab government has expanded its provincial cabinet by inducting 12 new ministers on Wednesday. Following the induction of new ministers, the size of the provincial cabinet swelled to 35.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar administered the oath to the newly appointed provincial ministers after Punjab Chief Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani read out the order of the appointment of new ministers at the Governor House.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar attended the ceremony besides provincial ministers Abdul Aleem Khan, Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, Raja Ammar Yasir, Dr Murad Rass and Mohsin Leghari. Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari was also present on the occasion.



Member Punjab Assembly (MPA) who took oath include: Pir Syed Saeedul Hassan Shah, Mehar Muhammad Aslam, Syed Husnain Jahania Gardezi, Muhammad Ajmal, Muhammad Akhlaq, Ashifa Riaz, Shoukat Ali Laleka, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Ijaz Masih, Mian Khalid Mehmood, Muhammad Jahanzaib Khan Khichi and Muhammad Akhter.

Abdul Hayi Dasti, Faisal Hayat Jabwana and Muhammad Hanif have also been appointed as new advisers, while Syed Rafaqat Ali Gillani, Ameer Muhammad Khan, Khurram Khan Leghari, Umar Farooq and Muhammad Salman have been named as special assistants.

The Punjab chief minister had given a go-ahead for the appointment of new minister earlier on Friday. The ceremony was also attended by Punjab Inspector General of Police Muhammad Tahir and senior civil servants. Buzdar congratulated the newly appointed ministers. He said provincial ministers would fulfill their new responsibilities in an amicable manner. “I expect that they will work tirelessly to fulfill the vision and first 100 days agenda of Prime Minister Imran Khan. They will work for the welfare of the people of Punjab and come up to their expectation,” he maintained.



Earlier, on August 28, 23 members took the oath which was administered by the acting Governor Chaudhry Pervez Elahi at a ceremony held at the Governor House. Fayyazul Hassan Chohan was appointed provincial minister for culture and information, while Dr Yasmin Rashid was named primary and secondary healthcare minister.

The list also mentioned independent candidate Taimoor Khan, who joined the PTI government, being named as minister for youth affairs and sports. Aleem Khan was named as the minister for local government, while Raja Basharat has been appointed as the minister for parliamentary affairs.

Yasir Humayun Sarfraz was assigned the post portfolio of minister for higher education and tourism. The government also named Mehmoodur Rasheed as the minister for housing, urban development and public health engineering, Rashid Hafeez as revenue minister and Makhdoom Hashim Bakht as finance minister among others.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2018.