ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Friday administered the oath to three new federal ministers and one state minister of the coalition government’s cabinet at the President House in Islamabad.
Pakistan Muslim League-Q’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Pakistan Muslim League-N’s Javed Latif and Balochistan National Party (Mengal)’s Agha Hassan Baloch took oath as federal ministers, while Hashim Notezai of the BNP (Mengal) took oath as minister of state.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also witnessed the swearing-in ceremony. Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had urged the Mengal group to be part of the cabinet.
On oath, the cabinet members made the solemn pledge “to bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, discharge its duties honestly to the best of ability and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law”.
“I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan. That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions,” said the new ministers while chorus-reading the text of the official oath.
Read more: PM Shehbaz Sharif’s 34-member federal cabinet takes oath
On April 19, a 34-member cabinet of the newly-elected PM had taken the oath that included 31 federal ministers and four ministers of state.
Chairman of Senate Sadiq Sanjrani had administered the oath to the new cabinet instead of the president, who had refused to swear in the new cabinet members.
The PML-N has a share of 15 federal ministers, two ministers of state and two advisers to prime ministers. The PPP has nine federal ministers, two ministers of state and one adviser to the PM. Four ministers are from the JUI-F, two from the MQM-Pakistan and as many from the PML-Q and BNP (Mengal), and one each from the JWP and BAP.
The other members, who are part of the cabinet, are: Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah Khanm Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Khurram Dastgir, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Javed Latif, Riaz Hussain Peerzada, Murtaza Javed Abbassi, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Syed Khursheed Shahm Senator Sherry Rehman, Syed Naveed Qamar, Abdul Qadir Patel, Shazia Marri, Syed Murtaza Mehmud, Sajid Hussain Turi, Ehasanur Rehman Mazari, Abdid Hussain Bhayo, Asad Mehmood, Abdul Wasay, Mufti Abdul Shakoor, Muhamamd Talha Mehmood, Syed Aminul Haq, Syed Faisal Sabzwari, Muhammad Israr Tareen, Shahzain Bugti and Chaudry Tariq Bashir Cheema.
Four Ministers of State are: Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Hina Rabbani Khar, Abdul Rehman Kanju and Senator Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar. Prime Minister’s advisers are: Miftah Ismael, Amir Muqam and Qamar Zaman Kaira.
