MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas on Wednesday allotted portfolios to his 16-member cabinet, more than two weeks after its formation, apart from adjusting nine other ruling party lawmakers as advisers, special assistants and parliamentary secretaries.

According to a notification, Khawaja Farooq Ahmed retained local government and rural development, Development Authority Muzaffarabad and virtually defunct Muzaffarabad City Development Project, Sardar Mir Akbar retained agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy development, irrigation and small dams, Deevan Ali Chughtai retained elementary and secondary education and technical and vocation training authority (Tevta), Abdul Majid Khan retained finance, inland revenue and cooperatives, and Akmal Sargala retained forests, wildlife and fisheries.

Similarly, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq retained communications and works, Zafar Iqbal Malick retained higher education, Nisar Ansar Abdali retained health services and Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaque retained revenue, stamps, and custodian (evacuee property). However, rehabilitation was not given to him this time round.

Chaudhry Ali Shan Soni got mineral resources in addition to his previous portfolio of food and Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed got Power Development Organisation (PDO) in addition to his previous planning and development department portfolio.

Chaudhry Arshad retained power and water resources but PDO had been taken out of his purview. He was additionally given the charge of the Mirpur Development Authority.

Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani retained law, justice and parliamentary affairs. However, instead of information, he has now been given the additional portfolio of tourism.

Among the new faces in the cabinet, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim was given civil defence, rehabilitation and state disaster management authority, Chaudhry Maqbool Ahmed was given industry, commerce, labour welfare, sericulture and printing press and Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, who is son of AJK president, was given physical planning and housing.

Two of these ministers, Khawaja Farooq Ahmed and Chaudhry Akhlaque, were inducted on April 18 soon after the swearing-in of PM Ilyas and the rest on April 25.

Also on Wednesday, the prime minister appointed Chaudhry Rafique Nayyar and Muhammad Iqbal as special assistants and Hafiz Hamid Raza and Sardar Muhammad Hussain as advisers to the government.

The premier also approved “division of work” among them, whereby information, environment and small industries corporation would be looked after by Mr Nayyar, information technology and archaeology by Mr Iqbal, Auqaf and religious affairs by Mr Raza and population welfare by Mr Hussain.

Meanwhile, according to another notification, Javed Iqbal Butt, Mazhar Saeed, Asim Sharif, Ms Taqdees Gillani and Ms Imtiaz Nasim, Mazhar Saeed were appointed as parliamentary secretaries, respectively, for transport, Ushar & Zakat, sports, youth & culture, social welfare & women development, and prisons.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2022