Punjab gets it first Sikh minister after Ramesh Singh Arora takes oath

• Arora returns to Punjab Assembly for third time.
• Lawmaker handed over minorities portfolio in govt.
• He first took oath as MPA after PML-N won in 2013.

LAHORE: Soon after a female chief minister took the oath of the Punjab chief executive's office for the first time in the country's history, the province continues to witness history as it also gets its first Sikh minister in the provincial cabinet, The News reported on Thursday.

Ramesh Singh Arora, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker, was sworn in as a minister in the cabinet of Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz. The Sikh politician returned to the provincial assembly for the third term but was handed over a ministry this time around.

Arora, who hails from the Narowal district, has been allotted the minorities portfolio. He was also the first-ever Sikh lawmaker of Punjab, taking oath as a member of the provincial assembly in 2013.

Meanwhile, Khalil Tahir Sindhu — another religious minority member from Punjab — has also been inducted into the provincial cabinet alongside Arora. Sindhu has been assigned the portfolio of human rights. 

Since 1970, various political parties or alliances, such as the PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have formed governments. However, the PML-N stands out as the only party to bring the first Sikh MPA to the house and include him in the cabinet.

The PTI had also introduced a Sikh MPA to the Punjab Assembly in the form of Mahendra Pal Singh, but he could not return to the PA in 2024 as the party was unable to secure its quota of reserved seats.

The current Punjab cabinet appears to be a blend of new and old faces, with figures like Bilal Akhbar Khan, Rana Sikandar, Zeeshan Rafique and Kazim Pirzada taking oath as ministers for the first time, although most of them have served as MPA for at least two or more terms.

Maryam Aurangzeb and Suhail Shaukat Butt are also experienced members, having served as MNAs in the past. Azma Bokhari, who has taken oath as an MPA for the fifth time in 2024, has been assigned the task of overseeing the Information Ministry of Punjab.