19-member cabinet of Pakistan's newly-elected PM Shahbaz Sharif sworn in
President Asif Ali Zardari (Centre left) administers the oath from federal ministers as Shahbaz Sharif watches during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Monday. AP
President Asif Ali Zardari administered the ministers' oaths at the President's Office — a sprawling white-marble building — in the capital, Islamabad, with Shahbaz Sharif in attendance.
The cabinet includes just one female minister, Shaza Fatima Khawaja. She is the minister of state.
The new ministers are Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Ahsan Iqbal Chaudry, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Abdul Aleem Khan, Jam Kamal Khan, Amir Muqam, Sardar Awais Leghari, Attaullah Tarar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Musadik Masood Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema and Mohsin Naqvi.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and Istehkam Pakistan Party (IPP) have been given representation by including one leader each of these parties.
Besides, banker Muhammad Aurangzeb, retired bureaucrat Ahad Cheema and former caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), have been included in the cabinet. The remaining ministers belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). There is no representation of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the cabinet.
This came days after Shahbaz was selected as prime minister in parliament following an alliance between his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and others. Shahbaz held the same position from April 2022 to August 2023, when he replaced archrival Imran Khan.
The new premier is expected to meet up with cabinet members to address multiple issues as Pakistan reels from an economic crisis, regular power cuts, a surge in militant attacks and a challenging relationship with neighbouring Taliban-run Afghanistan.
Among the prominent lawmakers and politicians inducted into the cabinet are Ishaq Dar, a former finance minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, who had previously served as the defence minister in Shahbaz Sharif’s cabinet, and Mohsin Naqvi, who served as the caretaker chief minister in the eastern Punjab province.
Pakistan’s president, who holds a ceremonial role, is a main ally of Shahbaz Sharif. So far, Zadari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has no presence in the cabinet. His son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was the foreign minister during Shahbaz Sharif's previous stint as premier.
On Sunday, police detained dozens of Imran Khan's supporters while protesting alleged rigging in last month’s parliamentary elections which the ousted politician’s party claimed was aimed at blocking it from getting a majority. Election officials have denied the charge.
