PESHAWAR, Nov 30: Akram Khan Durrani was sworn in as chief minister of  the NWFP on Saturday.

Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah administered the oath.

Jamaat-i-Islami’s provincial assembly member from Dir, Sirajul Haq, was administered the oath as provincial minister.

Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali flew into the provincial capital to attend the ceremony. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad also attended the ceremony, besides civil and military officers and elected representatives.

Unlike the past, when oath-taking of the chief ministers used to be held at the Darbar Hall, a large tent was erected at the lawn of Governor’s House to accommodate the over 1,500 MMA supporters. The ceremony looked more like a public meeting.

Born on March 1, 1960, the law graduate from Bannu is the 22nd chief minister of the NWFP. A handout described the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) MPA as a ‘moderate and progressive’ person.

Durrani joined the JUI-F in 1988. He became an MPA in 1990, lost the 1993 elections and regained his seat in 1997.