KP's new interim cabinet takes oath

• Portfolios of nine cabinet ministers will be announced later.
• KP governor administers oath with CM Khan in attendance.
• Governor hopes ministers will use their energies for province's prosperity.

PESHAWAR: A new nine-member cabinet in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took oath on Saturday to oversee the affairs of the province until a new government takes its reigns after general elections in the country.

Their oath was administered by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali with the provincial Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan in attendance.

The interim ministers, who have taken an oath today, include Syed Mahsood Shah, Feroz Jamal Shah Kakakheil, Justice (retd) Irshad Qaisar, Ahmad Rasool Bangash, Asif Rafiq, Dr Najeeb Ullah, Dr Muhammad Qasim, Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah and Syed Aamir Abdullah.

The portfolios of the ministers will be announced later.

Following the oath-taking ceremony, the KP governor congratulated the newly-appointed interim cabinet.

He expressed hope that the caretaker setup will utilise their energies for the development and prosperity of the province.

Earlier this month, CM Khan asked his 27-member interim cabinet — appointed on January 26 this year — to resign after receiving a letter from the Election Commission Pakistan regarding politically affiliated people in the cabinet.

The electoral authority had directed the KP caretaker CM to immediately “de-notify” ministers, advisers and special assistants “involved in politics”.

The KP governor accepted the resignations of 14 ministers and 11 advisers and special assistants on August 11.