ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The new Federal Cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi having 43 members took oath at a ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Friday morning.
President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to the Cabinet members who includes 27 Federal and 16 State Ministers.
The oath taking ceremony was attended by the new prime minister, parliamentarians, foreign diplomats, high officials and people from different walks of life.
The new Cabinet was finalized following over two-day in-depth consultation by the top leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) including the ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Murree.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) lawmakers are also part of the new Federal Cabinet.
The PML-N leaders Talal Chaudhry, Arshad Leghari and Junaid Anwar Chaudhry have now also joined the Cabinet while Mushahidullah Khan’s return as Minister of Climate Change has also been ensured.
However, former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is not part of new Cabinet.
In the new Federal Cabinet, many ministers retained their portfolios which they had in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Finance Ministry returned to Ishaq Dar, Railways Ministry to Khawaja Saad Rafique, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to Sheikh Aftab, SAFRON Ministry to Abdul Qadir Baloch, Religious Affairs Ministry to Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, and Education and Training Ministry to Baligh Ur Rehman.
Likewise, Khawaja Asif will serve as Foreign Affairs Minister, Ahsan Iqbal as Interior Minister, Khurram Dastgir as Defense Minister, Akram Durrani as Minister of Housing, Riaz Hussain Pirzada as Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, and Kamran Michael as Minister for Ports and Shipping.
Rana Tanveer, Barjees Tahir, Zahid Hamid, Mumtaz Ahmed Tarar, Pervaiz Malik, and Salahuddin Tirmizi are also included in the new Federal Cabinet.
Similarly, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha, Anusha Rahman, Pir Amin ul Hasnat, Barrister Usman Ibrahim, Jam Kamal Khan, Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry, Awais Leghari, Ayaz Shirazi, Dostain Khan, Abdul Rehman Kanjo, Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal, and Ghalib Khan have been appointed as Ministers of State.