ISLAMABAD  -  President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday adminis­tered the oath of office to members of the new­ly appointed 16-member caretaker federal cabinet. 

The swearing-in cer­emony was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr that was attended by Inter­im Prime Minister An­waar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians and prom­inent figures from dif­ferent sectors. 

The ceremony com­menced with the nation­al anthem before the rec­itation of verses from the Holy Quran. Among new­ly appointed federal cabi­net members who took oath, in­cluded Senator Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Sham­shad Akhtar, Lt. General (Retd) Anwar Ali Hyder, Murtaza Sol­angi, Sami Saeed, Shahid Ashraf Tarar, Ahmad Irfan Aslam, Mu­hammad Ali, Gohar Ejaz, Umar Saif, Nadeem Jan, Khalil George, Aneeq Ahmed, Jamal Shah and Madad Ali Sindhi.

Those who were appointed as advisers are Air Marshal (r) Far­hat Hussain, Ahad Khan Chee­ma and Waqar Masood Khan Sarfraz Ahmed Bughti were giv­en Interior Ministry, former for­eign Secretary Jalil Abbas Gi­lani was given foreign Ministry, Shamshad Akhter former State Bank Governor would be Fi­nance Minister, Lt Gen (r) Anw­er Ali Haider was given defence ministry, Federal Informa­tion Ministry was given to se­nior journalist Murtaza Solangi, Shahid Ashrtaf Tarar was giv­en communication Ministry, re­nowned Information technol­ogy expert Umar Saif would be federal Minister for IT. Ahmed Irfan Aslam would be federal law minister. Aniq Ahmad reli­gious minister, Dr Nadeem Jan health minister while Gohar Ejaz will be federal minister for commerce, Khalil George would be minister for human rights and women empowerment.

Muhammad Ali was named interim minister for petroleum and energy, Sami Saeed plan­ning minister while Jamal Shah will hold the office of the min­ister for national heritage and culture. Madad Ali Sindhi will take up the role of federal ed­ucation minister while Khalil George was named interim hu­man rights minister. Dr Nadeem Jan would be MInister for na­tional health services.

Air Marshal (r) Farhat Hus­sain will be adviser to the PM on aviation. Ahad Cheema has been made adviser on Establishment division and former federal sec­retary Waqar Masood Khan has been made adviser to the PM on finance. Wife of kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, Mashaal Mallik was made special adviser on human rights and women empower­ment. Jawad Sohrab Malik was made special adviser for over­seas Pakistani ministry, Vice ad­miral Iftikhar Rao will be spe­cial adviser on maritime affairs, and renowned poet Wasi Shah was made special adviser on tourism. Dr Jehanzeb Khan has been made special adviser on Special Investment facilitation council and Syedia Arifa Zeh­ra has been made special ad­viser on education and national harmony. The total strength of the federal cabinet with federal ministers, advisers and special advisers stands at twenty five.

Newly sworn-in cabinet vows to cope with challenges, serve masses The members of the newly-appointed interim Feder­al Cabinet on Thursday vowed to cope with the challenges con­fronting the country and serve the masses within their short stint. The 16-member interim cabinet members took the oath of office at a swearing-in ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, also at­tended by Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and prominent figures from various sectors. Talking to newsmen after his oath, Murta­za Solangi said that the masses would be ready to back the gov­ernment if it succeeded to create closeness with them.

The minister said if he were given the portfolio of the In­formation and Broadcasting Ministry, he would strive to modernise the state media in­stitutions, including the Asso­ciated Press of Pakistan (APP), Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan to make them cope with the modern trends.

Talking to APP, former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is also part of the interim cabi­net, said the main objective of the foreign policy was to serve the national interests.

He said the caretaker cabinet would strive to serve the coun­try’s interest through national consensus and improve cordial ties with countries like China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and South Asian states, among others.

He said Pakistan should further strengthen its relationship with China being a strategic partner with great economic cooperation. Similarly, he said, the success of the Afghan government was also essential that should play its role to eliminate terrorism. Moreover, Jilani said, he also desired that Pakistan’s all longstanding dis­putes with India should be re­solved peacefully including Kash­mir, Sir Creek and water issues. Madad Ali Sindhi told the media that if given the portfolio of ed­ucation and youth ministry, he, in cooperation with his team, would strive for the promotion of education in the country. He said the caretaker government would also address the issue of confron­tation in student politics as dis­putes among the student unions adversely impacted the work­ing of universities. Renowned ac­tor and director Jamal Shah, who was also sworn in, said if given the portfolio of the culture min­istry, he would serve to promote the country’s cultural heritage as coming from the same field, he was cognizant of the potential in the culture sector.