PESHAWAR - In the first phase, a 12-member cabinet of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will be administered oath after Eid-ul-Azha.
Consultation on proposed names for the right job is in final stages, and majority of the names for the cabinet have been approved. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan will give a final approval, sources told this scribe.
After his approval, names of the provincial cabinet members would be unveiled, which will be followed by an oath-taking ceremony after Eid-ul-Azha, being celebrated today (Wednesday).
The sources said that some of the names finalised for the KP cabinet are old guards. Besides, a few new faces will also be part of the new cabinet of the PTI government, which is going to govern the province for the second consecutive term.
A few among former ministers, who are luckily getting slots for the second time, are reportedly lobbying for new ministries instead of continuing with the old ministries, the sources revealed.
Another source said that a list of at least 11 proposed names for the provincial cabinet had been sent to PM Imran Khan after the approval of the Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan. Giving further details about the list, they said that representation had been given to each part of the province including Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand, Swat, Bannu and Lakki Marwat in the new cabinet.
“Imran Khan is likely to approve the list in a couple of days” they said. They further said that former KP minister for elementary education Atif Khan and former health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai were expected to get senior ministers’ slots. However, it has also been learnt that Atif Khan has sought a new ministry while Shahram Khan Tarakai is also unwilling to lead his previous ministry.
Hailing from district Mardan, Atif Khan, a close aide to Imran Khan, is reportedly interested in getting the portfolio of finance ministry, while Taimur Saleem Jhagra is being considered for the ministry of education.
Elected from district Kohat, Kamran Khan Bangash’s name has been proposed for ministry of information. Likewise, Ishtiaq Umer, who hails from Peshawar, is willing to get his previous ministry of environment and forestry. Shakeel Khan from Malakand, who was special assistant to the then CM on population welfare, could get a ministry this time.
Meanwhile, in the second phase, advisor and special assistants would be included in the cabinet giving more representation to Hazara region where from Mushtaq Ghani has been given the slot of Speaker KP Assembly.