Governor Kundi administers oath to five new KP ministers

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday administered the oath to five newly inducted provincial ministers at a ceremony held at the Governor House, according to an official statement.

The ministers who took oath were Shafiullah Jan, Shakeel Ahmed, Tariq Mahmood, Nazir Abbasi and Arif Ahmadzai. The swearing-in took place a day after the governor approved a summary for the induction of 18 new members into the provincial cabinet that had been sent by the office of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

According to the Governor House statement, minister-designate Adnan Qadri was not sworn in because he was abroad.

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi attended the ceremony along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, provincial ministers, government officials and political figures.

Cabinet expansion approved a day earlier

An official statement issued by the Governor House on Saturday said Governor Kundi had approved the summary for the expansion of the provincial cabinet. The approved expansion included six new ministers, four advisers and eight special assistants to the chief minister.

Besides the five ministers who took oath on Sunday, the list of new ministers also included Adnan Qadri.

The four advisers named in the official statement are Pir Musawir Shah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Humayun Khan and Mian Muhammad Umar.

The eight special assistants to the chief minister are Tariq Saeed, Muhammad Usman, Tufail Anjum, Iftikharullah Jan, Samiullah Khan, Malik Adeel Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid and Muhammad Israr.

Recent political context

A week earlier, Governor Kundi met leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and discussed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s constitutional and economic rights. During that meeting, he stressed the need to present a strong case before the federal government to secure justice and fair treatment.

Earlier this month, the governor had also said there was no sign of any immediate change in the provincial government. Responding to speculation about former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur possibly returning to office, Kundi rejected the rumours and said such expectations were unrealistic.

The latest cabinet expansion comes as the provincial government moves to bring additional members into the administration through the induction of ministers, advisers and special assistants, as outlined in the summary approved by the governor.

The Governor House statement said the oath-taking ceremony for the newly inducted members was held at the Governor House in Peshawar.