ISLAMABAD, June 23: Newly-elected Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf allocated on Saturday portfolios to members of his cabinet, but the list of ministers did not include the name of Dr Asim Hussain who was minister for petroleum in the Gilani government.
However, his ministry has not been given to anyone.
Most of the ministers and ministers of state have been given the portfolios they were holding in the cabinet of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi retained the status of Senior Minister and was given the Ministry of Defence Production and Industries. Except for him, no PML-Q parliamentarian took oath as member of the new cabinet on Friday.
The party leadership reportedly presented a list of demands to President Asif Ali Zardari and sought his assurance before allowing its other parliamentarians to take oath. The PML-Q leadership had developed differences with former prime minister Gilani for not releasing funds to its parliamentarians. This time it wanted an assurance that Mr Ashraf would not follow his predecessor in this regard.
Rehman Malik will continue to be Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs. All other advisers have also been allocated the same slots.
President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Dr Asim had been made Adviser to the PM on Petroleum. He also said the advisers were not required to take oath and all of them had been retained.
Talking to Dawn, Dr Asim confirmed that he had been made adviser to the prime minister, but said he would soon take oath as minister for petroleum.
Members of the cabinet are: Farzana Raja (Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme) with the status of minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim (Minister for Commerce), Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan (Communications), Nazar Muhammad Gondal (Capital Administration and Development), Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan (Climate Change), Syed Naveed Qamar (Defence), Hina Rabbani Khar (Foreign Affairs), Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh (Finance, Revenue, Planning and Development, Economic Affairs and Statistics), Qamar Zaman Kaira (Information and Broadcasting), Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani (Inter-Provincial Coordination), Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo (Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan), Senator Farooq Hamid Naek (Law and Justice, Parliamentary Affairs), Haji Khuda Bux Rajar (Narcotics Control). Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan (National Regulations and Services), Samina Khalid Ghurki (National Heritage and Integration), Mir Israullah Zehri (National Food Security and Integration), Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar (Overseas Pakistanis), Senator Babar Khan Ghauri (Ports and Shipping), Sardar Alhaj Mohammad Omar Gorgej (Postal Services), Senator Moula Bakhsh Chandio (Political Affairs), Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour (Railways), Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah (Religious Affairs), Mir Changez Khan Jamali (Science and Technology), Engr Shaukat Ullah (States and Frontier Regions), Makhdoom Shahabuddin (Textile Industry), Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar (Water and Power).
The ministers of state are: Abbas Ahmed Afridi (Commerce), Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari (Communication), Sardar Salim Haider Khan (Defence), Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan (Foreign Affairs), Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari (Information and Broadcasting), Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Warraich (Interior), Malik Azmat Khan (Inter-Provincial Coordination), Muhammad Moazzam Ali Khan Jatoi (National Food Security and Research), Dr Nadeem Ehsan (Overseas Pakistanis), Ms Rahela Baloch (Science and Technology) and Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi (Water and Power).
