SAID ALAM KHAN PESHAWAR - Justice (r) Tariq Pervez Khan on Wednesday afternoon took oath as the caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Governor Shaukatullah Khan administered to him oath at the governor house.Hailing from Peshawar, Tariq Pervez Khan became the fifth caretaker chief minister of the province after Gen (r) Fazl-e-Haq (1988), Mir Afzal Khan (1990), Mufti Muhammad Abbas (1993) and Shamsul Mulk (2007). Tariq Pervez Khan, former Peshawar High Court chief justice and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has professional career of over 40 years at his credit. Besides, he has also served as caretaker governor of the province in the past.KPK Governor Shaukatullah Khan, on the advice of the then chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti dissolved the provincial assembly on March 19. On March 15, Hoti and ex-opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani named Justice (r) Tariq Pervez as caretaker chief executive of the province after consensus on his name. And after taking oath, Tariq Pervez will now form his cabinet.Prominent among others who attended the oath-taking ceremony were Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, former speaker Karamatullah Khan, Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastgir Khan, Inspector General of Police Akbar Khan Hoti, Senator Afrasiab Khattak, Mian iftikhar Hussain, Anwar Saifullah Khan, Sahibzada Sabir Shah, Maulana Amanullah Haqqani, Mian Muneer Orakzai, Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, Peshawar-based consuls general of the United States, Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan and a dozen provincial ministers of the outgoing provincial government. However, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Akram Khan Durrani were not present.After taking the oath, the caretaker chief minister intermingled with the people who had gathered in the governor house to congratulate him on his becoming the caretaker chief minister.Talking to media persons after being administered oath, Tariq Pervez Khan said his top priority would be to ensure free and transparent polls in a peaceful atmosphere. “I will try my level best to perform my duty for which I have been trusted.” He said he would maintain his neutral and apolitical status in accordance with the aspirations of the people.The caretaker chief minister said he would work for peace, brotherhood, and tolerance. “I know I have been given a very important responsibility. I will try to improve the law and order situation in the province,” he added. He urged the political parties to cooperate with the government in holding free and impartial polls.