PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtun­khwa caretaker government has finalised its 10-member cabinet, which was sworn in on Thursday at a ceremony at the Governor House. Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra administered the oath to the ministers.

The cabinet has taken shape a week after the appointment of retired Justice Dost Mohammed Khan as caretaker Chief Minister of the province on June 6.

The cabinet members include Akbar Jan Marwat, Mohammed Rashid Khan Advocate, Dr Saira Safdar, Muqadas Shah, Abdul Rauf Khan, Mohammed Sanaullah Khan, Zafar Iqbal Bangash, Anwarul Haq Advocate, Fazal Elahi and retired Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani.

Most of the members of the cabinet are relatively unknown publicly, and three of them are allegedly from the home district of the caretaker chief minister, Bannu. The portfolios of the interim ministers, however, have yet to be announced.

Asadullah Chamkani — who belongs to Chamkani village just outside of Peshawar — served as the advocate general for KP and also as judge of the Peshawar High Court. Mohammed Rashid Khan and Anwarul Haq — both from Bannu — are senior lawyers, while Zafar Bangash — also from Bannu — is a former employee of Pakistan Television.

Akbar Marwat belongs to Lakki Marwat and is the son of former inspector general of Frontier Constabulary, Dil Jan Khan. Dr Safdar is a prominent educationist and has served as member of the KP Public Service Commission.

Soon after taking the oath, the interim cabinet met for the first time at the chief minister’s secretariat. A statement issued later said the caretaker chief minister assured that the government would use all available resources for ensuring peaceful elections in the province.

The statement said that the meeting was centred on the conduct of the upcoming elections, and highlighted the responsibilities of the police chief and the newly appointed chief secretary. The cabinet met with a one-point agenda geared to creating an environment conducive for the people to exercise their right to vote.

The caretaker chief minister said that all law enforcement agencies must efficiently gather intelligence reports, and coordinate with other institutions involved in the elections to make sure that there were no surprises in the province before, during and after the elections.

The chief minister also assured that all regions of the province would be represented in the cabinet, which was why it would be expanded after Eid. He said that it was important for cabinet members to work diligently to avoid any possible administrative problems later.

The interim cabinet has also been advised to follow the example of the chief minister and maintain a low profile — setting a standard of austerity — by drastically reducing government expenditure.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2018