PAKISTAN PM SHEHBAZ SHARIF’S 34-MEMBER COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TAKES OATH

(The Quiver): After much anticipation and delays, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet has been sworn in in the first phase at an oath-taking ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani administered the oath to the members of the federal cabinet, instead of President Arif Alvi as he excused himself from performing his constitutional duty.

The cabinet has 31 federal ministers, three ministers of state and three advisers.

The cabinet division issued a list of federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers included in the first phase of the induction on Monday night.

Earlier, there was uncertainty among the parties of the ruling alliance on becoming a part of the federal cabinet as PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari had said that his party would not take ministries.

However, later, in a brief press talk at Parliament House on Saturday, Asif Zardari said that they want their friends to be accommodated first, The News reported.

Earlier, the PML-N was to take the ministries of information, finance, interior, planning and development, energy, trade, establishment, cabinet, national security, inter-provincial coordination, law and justice and parliamentary affairs.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a major ally of the government, was supposed to get the ministries of foreign affairs, water resources, health, human rights, education, climate change, communications, industries and production, besides the head of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

However, Bilawal is not among the members of the newly formed cabinet.