Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Malik Rafique Rajwana Monday administered oath to 11 newly inducted provincial ministers.

MPA Raza Gillani will take oath once he returns to homeland.

With the induction of fresh blood in the provincial cabinet, total figure of ministers reaches 32, while 33 MPAs are already enjoying portfolios of parliamentary secretaries.

Besides, two advisers and two special assistants have also been inducted into the cabinet.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also attended the oath taking ceremony held at the Punjab Governor House on Monday.

Later, the chief minister left for England for medical checkups, sources said.

Interestingly, the initial notification regarding induction of new ministers lacked the name of Advisor to the Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Imran Nazir. But during the oath taking ceremony, he was inducted as 12th minister.

Those took oath on Monday include Sheikh Allauddin from Kasur, Jehangir Khanzada from Attock, Amanatullah Khan Shadi Khel from Mianwali, Khawaja Salman Rafique from Lahore, Khawaja Imran Nazir from Lahore, Muhammad Manshaullah Butt from Sialkot, Mehr Ijaz Ahmed Achlana from Layyah, Syed Zaeem Hussain Qadri from Lahore, Muhammad Naeem Akhtar Khan Bhabha from Vehari, Syed Raza Ali Gillani from Bahawalpur, Malik Ahmed Yar Hanjra from Muzaffargarh and a female minister Naghma Mushtaq from Multan.

Raza Ali Gilani belongs to PP-187 Okara district.

Two new special assistants to CM are MPA Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan from Kasur and MPA Rana Muhammad Arshad from Nankana Sahab, while Rana Maqbool Ahmed and Azmul Haq have been notified as advisers to the CM.

It is worth mentioning that in the cabinet, no one member of any allied parties of the government including Bahawalpur National Awami Party (BNAP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) were accommodated by the ruling PML-N. Zia-League has three seats and BNAP has one seat in the sitting Punjab Assembly. The government even did not accommodate any member from the treasury bench who had criticised its policies during assembly sessions.

It is also worthy to mention that representatives of some of the districts of Punjab were also seen annoyed by the extension of the cabinet as no representation was given to their districts.

After the induction of new ministers into the cabinet, total figure of the ministers belonging to Lahore has reached seven. Some of the opposition members, especially Asif Mehmood and Ijaz Khan said that such an act would enhance feeling of deprivation in backward districts, especially the areas of Saraiki belt.

Commenting on the new induction, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said Shahbaz Sharif must empower these new ministers and gave them authority to take independent decision about their departments.

Opposition members were also of the view that it was an election stunt, as the government had obliged some ministers just one-and-a-half-year prior to elections.

According to the parliamentary sources, reshuffling of portfolios is expected in couple of days as some of the sitting ministers like Bilal Yasin has already requested the CM during the extended cabinet meeting on Monday to change his ministry.