PAKISTAN PM ABBASI’S CABINET SWORN IN, ASIF IS FOREIGN MINISTER

The cabinet of Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was sworn in on Friday, with veteran PML-N leader Khawaja Asif set to be the first full-time foreign minister since the party came to power in 2013.

Khurram Dastgir Khan, who was labour minister in former premier Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, is to be defence minister while Ahsan Iqbal, a Sharif loyalist, is set to be the interior minister.

President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to the ministers during a ceremony at the President House in Islamabad a week after Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court for dishonesty in declaring his assets.

Ishaq Dar, the finance minister under Sharif, returned in the same role despite a criminal investigation ordered against him by the top court. Darshan Lal became the first Hindu minister in more than two decades, responsible for coordination between the four provinces.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the powerful former interior minister refused to join the new cabinet. The cabinet retained many allies of Sharif though there was a major reshuffle of portfolios aimed at bolstering support ahead of the general election due next year. It has 43 members, including 27 federal ministers and 16 ministers of state.

There was no formal announcement on the portfolios, but news channels widely reported the ministries allocated to cabinet members. Khawaja Asif, 67, a staunch Sharif ally and former banker, earlier held the defence and power ministries. Last September, he had warned Pakistan would use its nuclear weapons to annihilate India if the country’s survival is threatened.

Ahsan Iqbal, 58, began his political career in the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami and has an MBA from Wharton. He is considered a surprise choice for the interior ministry as has focussed on development and earlier led a commission overseeing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Khurram Dastigir Khan, 47, one of the younger generation of PML-N leaders, was the surprise pick for the defence portfolio. He studied electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology and is considered a Sharif loyalist.