PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday assigned portfolios to three ministers and appointed his two special assistants.

He also changed the portfolio of one of his special assistants.

According to a notification issued here, the chief minister, exercising powers conferred upon him by Sub-Rule 4 of Rule 3 of the KP Government Rules of Business, 1985, assigned the portfolio of higher education, archives and libraries to minister Kamran Khan Bangash.

Also, Mr Arshad Ayub Khan was notified as the irrigation minister. Mr Bangash and Mr Ayub were made ministers at the start of the current month. However, their portfolios were not announced.

CM also appoints ex-senator Barrister Saif, ex-bureaucrat Sahibzada Saeed his aides

Mr Arshad is the brother of MPA Akbar Ayub Khan, who was de-notified as the local government and rural development minister in August this year.

In the letter of resignation, Mr Akbar had cited his ‘recently diagnosed illness’ as the reason for de-notification and said he wanted to focus on his health and constituency affair.

The chief minister also assigned minister Faisal Amin Khan Gandapur the local government and rural development portfolio.

Mr Amin, a brother of federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, had taken oath as a minister in April this year. However, he was not given any portfolio.

“I will do my best to deliver as there’s lots of potential for urban and rural services, services, planning and green initiatives,” Mr Amin wrote on his Twitter handle.

Mr Bangash also issued a statement about cabinet reshuffle and said a committed and alert team could ensure the achievement of the PTI agenda.

He said he tried to do his best as the provincial government’s spokesperson.

Mr Bangash also thanked Chief Minister Mahmood Khan for ‘reposing trust’ in him.

Meanwhile, the chief minister assigned the portfolio of social welfare, special education and women’s development to Zakat and Ushr minister Anwar Zeb Khan.

Also, he changed the portfolio of special assistant to the chief minister on energy and power department Taj Mohammad Khan Tarand and gave him the charge of the revenue and estate department.

In a separate notification, the chief minister announced the appointment of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif and former bureaucrat Sahibzada Saeed as his special assistants.

Barrister Saif was given the portfolio of the information and public relations department and Mr Saeed that of the energy and power department.

Mr Saif, who had joined the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in March this year, will act as the spokesman for the provincial government.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet has now 15 ministers, and four advisers and five special assistants to the chief minister. Also, four lawmakers have been made parliamentary secretaries for various departments, according to the information posted on the official website of the provincial assembly.

Under Article 130(6) of the Constitution, the strength of the cabinet shall not exceed 15 or 11 per cent of the total membership of a provincial assembly, whichever is higher.

In May this year, the provincial government had acknowledged in the assembly that it had overstepped its authority by inducting more ministers in the cabinet than allowed by the Constitution.

The number of cabinet members reached 17 after the induction of four ministers in April. However, the chief minister removed revenue minister Qalandar Khan Lodhi to reduce the cabinet size.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2021