PESHAWAR: Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohammad Azam Khan on Friday picked his new cabinet comprising nine ministers and two advisers and a special assistant to him.

The administration department is yet to notify the caretaker cabinet having four members from the last. The oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place today (Saturday).

The ministers-designate include Syed Masud Shah, Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, retired Justice Irshad Qaiser, Ahmad Rasool Bangash, Asif Rafiq, Dr Najeebullah, Dr Mohammad Qasim Jan, retired Justice Arshad Hussain Shah and Syed Aamir Abdullah.

Dr Riaz Anwar and Dr Sarfaraz Ali Shah will be advisers to the CM, while Zafarullah Khan will be a special assistant to the CM.

Oath-taking ceremony likely today

The summary was sent to Governor Ghulam Ali for approval that came in the evening, according to official sources.

Masud Shah, Mr Kakakhel, retired Justice Qaiser and Dr Anwar were part of the last caretaker cabinet as well.

Retired Justice Qaiser, who belongs to Hazara division, is the former chief judge of the Gilgit- Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court, who held that office from 2019 to 2022. He has also served as the deputy attorney-general for Pakistan.

Mohammad Qasim Jan is an education expert, while Zafarullah is a retired police officer.

Dr Najeebullah, a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Department of Material Science) is the founding director of the US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy.

He has also served as the project director of the University of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Swat, and worked as a consultant with the UNDP and developed a 10-year energy plan for the erstwhile Fata.

He also served as a consultant and country expert with Tufts University Boston on the “Chinese overseas investment in renewable energy projects through the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Currently, Dr Najeebullah is working as the member (Science, Technology and ICT) at the Planning Commission of Pakistan and looks after the development portfolio of science and technology, information technology and higher education ministries.

On Aug 10, 19 members of the last caretaker cabinet tendered their resignations to the CM over their purported involvement in politics. The other six members stepped down the next day.

The CM asked them to hand over their resignations to him over a cup of tea and they complied instantly.

Sources said at least two cabinet members “resisted” the CM’s directives to quit insisting they were neither involved in politics nor did they hold any political gathering.

The exodus came after caretaker minister Shahid Khattak resigned on July 24 citing personal commitments as the reason. Earlier, he addressed a public meeting organised by the Awami National Party.

The minister’s presence in a political gathering evoked a strong response from the Election Commission of Pakistan on July 23. He stepped down a day later.

On July 31, the ECP wrote a letter to the caretaker CM saying that his government is bound by Article 218(3) of the Constitution to organise and conduct elections in a free, fair, transparent and impartial manner. The ECP asked Mr Khan to sack all his cabinet members involved in politics.

On Aug 12, Governor Ghulam Ali accepted the resignations of 14 ministers and 11 aides to the CM, including six special assistants and five advisers.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023