Lahore- A 21-member new Punjab cabinet, a blend of new and old faces, was sown-in at the Governor House on Monday. 
Since the official notification regarding acceptance of Punjab Governor’s resignation was not issued till late in the evening, Makhdum Ahmed Mehmud administered oath to the ministers.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was present on the occasion besides Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Members National and Provincial Assembly, Chief Secretary Punjab, Acting Inspector General Police, government officials, Muslim League leaders and PML-N activists.
Following are the names and portfolios of the provincial ministers who took oath on Monday. They include Rana Sanaullah (Local Government & Community Development/Additional charge of Law & Parliamentary Affairs), Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan (School Education/Additional Charge of Higher Education and Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology & Tourism), Atta Muhammad Manika, (Social Welfare & Baitul Maal), Malik Nadeem Kamran (Zakat & Ushr), Col. Retd. Shuja Khanzada (Environment Protection), Tanvir Aslam Malik (Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering), Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman (Finance/Additional charge of Excise & Taxation), Zakiya Shahnawaz, (Population Welfare), Hamida Waheed-ud-Din (Women Development), Abdul Waheed Chaudhary (Prisons), Bilal Yasin (Food), Iqbal Channar (Cooperatives), Dr. Farrukh Javed, (Agriculture), Raja Ishfaq Sarwar (Labour & Human Resources), Yawar Zaman (Irrigation), Muhammad Asif Malik (Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries), Sher Ali Khan (Energy/Additional charge of Mines and Mineral), Asif Saeed Khan Manais (Special Education), Syed Haroon Ahmed Sultan (Auqaf and Religious Affairs), Chaudhary Muhammad Shafique (Industries, Commerce & Investment) and Tahir Khalil Sindhu. (Human Rights & Minorities/Additional charge of Health).
Later, congratulating the members of provincial cabinet, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif expressed the hope that they will come up to the expectations of the people and discharge their responsibilities efficiently. Talking to media on the occasion, he said that all areas of the province have been given representation in the cabinet. He said that experienced, hardworking and capable persons have been inducted in the cabinet who will work round the clock for resolving public problems.
Replying to a question, Shahbaz Sharif reiterated that all resources would be provided for solution of people’s problems and development and prosperity of the country.
Earlier, there was some confusion as to who would administer oath to the cabinet since President Zardari has already accepted Makhdum’s resignation.
President Zardari’s spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar told The Nation on Monday that president had signed the summary regarding acceptance of Punjab governor’s resignation on Sunday night.
Asked why Makhdum was still the governor and also administering oath to the new Punjab cabinet despite acceptance of his resignation, he replied that there might be some procedural delay in the issuance of notification by the PM secretariat in this regard.