New cabinet likely to take oath today

By Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari is likely to administer oath to the new cabinet on Friday that may comprise of 15 to 17 federal ministers and ministers of states in the first phase.

President Zardari has accepted the resignations of all the outgoing federal ministers and ministers of state on the advice of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who called on him at the Presidency earlier in the day. He has also accepted the resignations of all those who enjoyed the status of the federal ministers and ministers of state.

The cabinet division will notify these resignations late Thursday night to pave the way for the swearing in of the new cabinet. Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Abdul Rehman Malik, Dr Babar Awan, Syed Khursheed Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Haji Ghulam Bilour (ANP), Khuda Buksh Rajar (PML-Functional), Israrullah Zehri (BNP-Awami) and Shahbaz Bhatti are likely to make their re-entry into the new cabinet, according to well informed sources.

They indicated that Ms Hina Rabbani Khar will also take oath as minister of state while from FATA either Hameedullah Jan Afridi or Shaukatullah and from Balochistan either Hamayun Aziz Kurd or Ayatullah Durrani will take oath as federal ministers.

A meeting was in progress at the Prime Minister’s House till late Thursday night in which President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and senior members of the PPP are finalising the list of new faces that would be part of the new cabinet.

Earlier, Prime Minister Gilani held a luncheon meeting with President Zardari in which matters regarding the current situation in the country and the proposed roundtable of the political parties were discussed. The two leaders also reviewed the measures being taken at various levels to strengthen the economy.