Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to keep the federal cabinet size reduced, the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday assigned additional charges of different unmonitored ministries to eight federal ministers, DawnNews reported.

Federal ministers with their additional charges are, Manzoor Watto (ministry of Defence Production)-- Makhdoom Shahabuddin (ministery of Housing and Works)-- Hina Rabbani Khar (ministry of Economics affair Division)-- Raza Rabbani (ministry of Human Rights)-- Khurshid Shah (ministry of Labor and manpower)-- Syed Naveed Qamar (ministry of Water and Power)-- Samina Khalid Gharki (ministry of Women Development) and Engineer Shaukat Ullah (ministry of Sports.)

A reduction in the size of the cabinet is a legal requirement of the 18th amendment to the constitution, which stipulates it should be no larger than 11 percent of parliament, which would be a maximum of 49 members.

Gilani dissolved the cabinet last month after powerful opposition parties demanded a smaller line-up as part of retrenchment efforts to tackle Pakistan’s economic woes.