Shehzad Arbab, who was removed from his position of adviser to the prime minister, returned to the federal cabinet on Saturday after he was appointed as special assistant to the prime minister on establishment.
Arbab was removed from his former post after a cabinet reshuffle by PM Imran that took place in the aftermath of a sugar and wheat crises report by the FIA was made public by the prime minister.
With Shehzad’s inclusion, the cabinet’s numbers have swelled to 48. The cabinet comprises 18 unelected members, 25 federal ministers, four state ministers. The prime minister has five advisers and 14 special assistants.
All five advisers of the premier, including 13 special assistants, are unelected. Special assistants Sania Nishtar and Arbab Shehzad have the same powers as federal ministers.
The report had stated that Jahangir Tareen, a close aide of the prime minister and a senior leader of the PTI, along with federal minister Khusro Bakhtiar’s brother, benefited the most from the hike in sugar prices in January. Another major beneficiary identified in the report was Moonis Elahi, a senior leader of the government’s ally, the PML-Q.
