ISLAMABAD: Brigadier retired Ijaz Ahmed Shah, who was appointed as minister of the interior a day earlier amidst a major cabinet reshuffle, assumed office on Friday.
Earlier, portfolio of the interior minister was held by the Premier Imran Khan himself.
Shah – who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from the constituency of NA-118, Nankana Sahib-II – was a close aide of then-president General retired Pervez Musharraf. He had also served as director general (DG) of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from 2004 to 2008.
Earlier, hours after removing Finance Minister Asad Umar from his cabinet on Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan fired several ministers, including Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, for showing unsatisfactory performance in their respective domains.
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office late on Thursday, Abdul Hafeez Pasha will take charge of the Finance Ministry as PM’s adviser, replacing Asad Umar who left the cabinet after the PM offered him the portfolio of Energy Ministry.
Firdous Ashiq Awan has been appointed as PM’s special assistant on media affairs while former information minister Fawad Chaudhry will now head Science and Technology Ministry.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Azam Swati, who resigned last year, has been appointed as minister for parliamentary affairs.
On April 15, Pakistan Today reported that the premier is not impressed with the performance of around half a dozen cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Asad Umar and State Minister for Interior Shehryar Afridi and wants to reshuffle their portfolios.
This was refuted by the information minister, who said the prime minister had no plan to remove his finance minister.
