GILGIT, Dec 16: Federal Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao will take oath as the Northern Areas chief executive on Tuesday.

A meeting of the Northern Areas Legislative Council, held on Monday, was informed that the oath taking ceremony would be held in Islamabad and that the NALC cabinet members had proceeded to the federal capital for participation.

However, the meeting criticized the venue of the oath taking ceremony and said that it should have been held here.

The meeting was also informed that only the cabinet members of the NALC were invited to the ceremony.

The council members during the session urged the government to rehabilitate the quake-affected people on permanent basis and decided to donate their one-week salary, Rs500,000 for the quake- hit people.

The members demanded of the government to declare the Diamer district calamity-hit and said that all the financial institutions should write off small loans.