President Zardari administers oath to new cabinet ministers

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The federal cabinet expanded on Thursday as new ministers and advisers were sworn in during a ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani in attendance.

A total of 12 federal ministers, 9 ministers of state, and 3 advisers were inducted into the cabinet.

Those sworn in as federal ministers include Hanif Abbasi, Moeen Watto, Mustafa Kamal, Sardar Yousuf, Aurangzeb Katchi, Rana Mubashir, Raza Hayat Hiraj, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Shaza Fatima, Junaid Anwar, and Khalid Magsi.

Among the new ministers of state are Talal Chaudhry, Barrister Aqeel Malik, Malik Rasheed, Kheal Das Kohistani, Abdul Rehman Kanju, Bilal Azhar Kayani, Mukhtar Bharath, Aun Chaudhry, and Wajiha Qamar.

The newly appointed advisers include Pervez Khattak, Tauqir Shah, and Muhammad Ali.

The families and close relatives of the newly appointed cabinet members also attended the swearing-in ceremony.

However, three ministers were unable to take the oath due to traffic congestion in Islamabad. Imran Shah was set to be sworn in as federal minister, while Shezra Mansab and Armaghan Subhani were scheduled to take oath as ministers of state but failed to reach on time.