LAHORE: Ministers inducted into the Punjab cabinet have been assigned portfolios amid confusion about the status of a few members.

Portfolios of some previous ministers have also been reshuffled.

Eleven out of the 12 new ministers took oath of offices on Monday -- the 12th member, Ali Raza Gilani, was out of country. With these new inductions, the number of chief minister’s colleagues in the provincial cabinet has now increased from 21 to 32.

A notification issued by the Services and General Administration Department’s (S&GAD) cabinet wing on Nov 27 mentioned Khwaja Imran Nazir, former inspector general Rana Maqbool Ahmed and Azmul Haq as advisers to the chief minister. Another notification mentioned Nazir as a minister, while a third one confined the list of advisers to Ahmed and Azmul Haq.

The confusion seeped into various public sector institutions too. For instance, the Punjab Assembly’s website on Tuesday evening -- two days after issuance of the notifications -- mentioned Nazir as adviser on primary and secondary health.

Moreover, a press release issued by the IT University claims its Vice Chancellor Umar Saif has also been notified as adviser to the chief minister. A notification issued by the S&GAD states that he will be an honorary adviser enjoying no financial perks and administrative powers.

A notification about assignment of portfolios to new ministers and reshuffling of some previous ones was issued after midnight on Monday.

The ministers and portfolios assigned to them are Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, labour and human resource; Sher Ali Khan, mines and minerals; Tanveer Aslam Malik, communications and works; Asif Malik, archaeology; Rana Sanaullah Khan, law and parliamentary affairs; Hameeda Waheeduddin, women development; Bilal Yasin, food; Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, excise and taxation as well as additional charge of information and culture; Rana Mashhood, school education; Zaeem Qadri, auqaf and religious affairs; Sheikh Alauddin, industries, commerce and investment; Raza Ali Gillani, higher education; Mian Yawar Zaman, forestry, fisheries and wildlife; Naghma Mushtaq, zakat and ushr; Malik Nadeem Kamran, planning and development as well as additional charge of housing and urban development; Mian Atta Manika, revenue; Farrukh Javed, literacy and non-formal education; Naeem Akhtar Bhabha, agriculture.

Asif Saeed Manais, livestock and dairy development; Ahmad Yar Hanjra, prisons; Haroon Sultan Bokhari, Baitul Maal and social welfare; Ijaz Achlana, disaster management; Iqbal Channar, cooperatives; Chaudhry Shafique, special education; Zakia Shahnawaz, population welfare and additional charges of environment and higher education; Khalil Tahir Sandhu, human rights and minorities affairs; Amanatullah Shadikhel, irrigation; Aisha Ghaus Pasha, finance; Manshaullah Butt, local government; Khawaja Salman Rafiq, specialised healthcare and medical education; and Jahangir Khanzada, youth affairs, sports.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2016