ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has administered oath to 19 member federal cabinet here at Aiwan e Sazdr (The Presidency) on Monday.
The oath-taking ceremony was held on Monday afternoon at the President House, which was also attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, among others.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sharif had forwarded a list of the 19 federal cabinet members to President Zardari.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the prime minister recommended the appointment of 19 individuals as federal ministers, under clause 1 of Article 92 of the Constitution.
Among those who have taken the oath as federal ministers are Attaullah Tarar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Jam Kamal, Ameer Muqam, Awais Laghari, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanveer, Abdul Aleem Khan, Azam Nazir Tarar, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Qaiser Sheikh, and Riaz Pirzada.
Moreover, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema, and Mohsin Naqvi have also taken oaths, who will likely be appointed ministers of state with the status of federal ministers.
Furthermore, Dr Musadik Malik and former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who do not hold any seat in any house of parliament, have also taken the oath. They will be appointed federal ministers under clause 1 of Article 92 of the Constitution, read with clause 9 of Article 91.
PML-N’s Shaza Fatima Khawaja has also been included in the cabinet and will likely be appointed a minister of state.
Significantly, no lawmaker from the PPP is part of this initial cabinet formation.
Moreover, Prime Minister Sharif has also recommended the names of Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema, and Mohsin Naqvi in the cabinet, albeit as ministers of state. They will, however, have the status of federal ministers.
Furthermore, the prime minister’s list also includes the names of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Dr Musadik Malik and Shaza Fatima. As per the sources, the PM has proposed to make Ishaq Dar and Musadik Malik federal ministers and Shaza Fatima a minister of state.
read more: Asif Zardari elected as 14th President of Pakistan with a huge margin
