PESHAWAR, Dec 2: An eleven-member NWFP cabinet was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Darbar Hall of the Governor’s House here on Monday. Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah administered the oath to the ministers.

Two main component parties of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal — Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) and Jamaat-i-Islami — share the portfolios.

The JUI-F ministers included Zafar Azam (Karak), Fazle Ali (Swabi), Sardar Idrees (Abbottabad), Qari Mahmood (Swat), Hafiz Akhtar Ali (Mardan) and Asif Iqbal (Peshawar). The JI ministers were Hussain Ahmad (Swat), Fazl Rabbani (Mardan), Raja Faisal Zaman (Haripur), Inayatullah (Dir Upper) and Hashmat Khan (Peshawar).

Talking to newsmen after the oath-taking ceremony, Chief Minister Akram Durrani said that the portfolios of the ministers would be announced later.

Durrani said the cabinet would be expanded at a later stage and the MMA government would consider giving representation to women, minorities and MPAs of other parties.

“A decision in this respect will be taken after consultation with the MMA leadership and I hope we will accommodate the other component parties of the MMA and women and minority MPAs in the next phase of the cabinet,” he maintained.

The government had also decided not to appoint advisers like the previous governments, he said and added: “If the government feels the need of advisers only the elected members will be appointed for the post.”

To a question about the MMA government stance on the ongoing operation against the Taliban and Al Qaeda fugitives, Akram Durrani said: “The FBI operation is restricted to the tribal areas which do not fall in the limits of the provincial government. I hope the US government would respect the people’s mandate in the Frontier province.”

To a query, the chief minister said his government would determine the role of district governments in the province in consultation with other component parties of the MMA which took part in the local bodies elections.