March 07, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday assigned portfolios to 26 newly inducted ministers, state ministers and advisers in his federal cabinet.
Besides allotting portfolios to four new special assistants, the premier also reassigned the ministries of some of the cabinet members.
Setting aside tall claims of austerity drive and cut in government’s expenditure, the premier last week inducted new members into his team including 12 federal ministers, 9 state ministers, three advisers and four special assistants, while two state ministers were elevated to post of the federal minister.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division today, federal minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has been given the portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs, while Ali Pervaiz Malik and Shaza Fatima Khawaja made the federal ministers of Petroleum and Information Technology, respectively.
Portfolios assigned to other federal ministers are:
Similarly, state ministers Barrister Aqeel Malik, Bilal Azhar Kayani and Talal Chaudhry have been given portfolios of Law & Justice, Railways and Interior & Narcotics Control, respectively.
New state ministers:
Interestingly, Pervez Khattak — once a close aide of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister — has been appointed as Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior affairs.
In addition to this, two more advisers — Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah and Muhammad Ali — were also added to the cabinet, increasing the number of advisers to the prime minister to seven.
Special Assistants to the Prime Minister (SAPMs) include Haroon Akhtar, who has been given the portfolio of Industries and Production; Huzaifa Rehman, National Heritage and Culture; Mubarak Zeb, Tribal Affairs; and Talha Burki, Political Affairs.
It is pertinent to mention here that President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the new federal cabinet members in the ceremony attended by PM Shehbaz, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani and senior officials.