Fifteen Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ministers who were inducted into the provincial cabinet were sworn in at a prestigious ceremony held at the Governor’s House on Wednesday.
The induction of ministers into the provincial cabinet was announced by the KP government’s administrative department after a summary by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapura, which was approved by KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali.
Members include Arshad Ayub Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Fazal Hakim Khan, Muhammad Adnan Qadri, Aqib Ullah Khan, Muhammad Sajjad, Meena Khan and Fazal Shakoor.
The cabinet also includes Nazir Ahmad Abbasi, Pakhtoon Yar Khan, Aftab Alam Khan Afridi, Khaleeq Ur Rehman, Syed Qasim Ali Shah, Faisal Khan Tarakai and Muhammad Zahir Shah.
Subsequently, the newly elected KP CM Gandapur also sent a summary to the Governor to recommend the appointment of his advisers, which was also approved by the Governor.
Based on the CM’s advice, five advisers were appointed, including Syed Fakhar Jehan, Muzamil Aslam, Muhammad Ali Saif, Mashal Azam and Zahid Chanzeb.
Yesterday, Gandapur received a nod of approval from jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan after meeting him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
After finalizing the cabinet members, the chief minister did not release their names as he was under pressure from some party parties to accommodate their nominees, The News learned from sources.
Interestingly, most of those who were considered and approved by the PTI founder as cabinet members were not aware of their selection.
“Some cabinet members and their portfolios have been approved but I cannot mention them,” the PTI leader said. Requesting anonymity, he added that every PTI MPA in the provincial assembly was expected to be inducted into the cabinet, which he said was not possible.
After being nominated as the Chief Minister of KP, Gandapur signaled the acceptance of new faces, up to more than 50%, in the next provincial cabinet, giving them a chance to represent the citizens in the assembly.
According to the party’s internal perception regarding the nomination of Gandapura for the top post of KP, PTI workers supported the decision and termed his nomination as the best choice.
The politician elaborated his plans to run the new provincial government and proposed sweeping reforms in health, education, social security and other public sectors.
Gandapur also promised to resume work on projects stopped by the administrator, besides continuing health cards, langar khanas (soup houses) and other welfare projects.
