Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood to head religious affairs ministry

ISLAMABAD: Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood on Tuesday was notified as the head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif granted approval.

Senator Mahmood was already part of the federal cabinet serving as the minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron). He will be assuming the religious affairs portfolio as an additional charge. 

Mahmood belongs to the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and was elected as a senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 2018.

The religious affairs ministry portfolio fell vacant after the death of Mufti Abdul Shakoor in a road accident.

Shakkor passed away last week after a Toyota Hilux Revo — with five people onboard — smashed his vehicle at the driver's side when he was headed towards Secretariat Chowk from a local hotel.

The federal minister was shifted to Polyclinic Hospital in the federal capital, but due to severe internal bleeding, he succumbed to his wounds, the police said.