Five New Ministers Inducted into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet

PESHAWAR — The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial cabinet was expanded on Sunday as five new ministers were sworn into office during a ceremony at the Governor House in Peshawar. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath to the new cabinet members in the presence of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah.

The newly inducted ministers are Shafiullah Jan, Shakeel Ahmed, Tariq Mahmood, Nazir Abbasi, and Arif Ahmadzai. According to a statement issued by Governor House, a sixth minister-designate, Adnan Qadri, could not take the oath as he was abroad at the time of the ceremony.

The appointments follow the governor’s approval of a summary sent by the chief minister’s office for the induction of 18 new members. The overall expansion includes six ministers, four advisers, and eight special assistants to the chief minister.

The newly appointed advisers are Pir Musawir Shah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Humayun Khan, and Mian Muhammad Umar. The eight special assistants include Tariq Saeed, Muhammad Usman, Tufail Anjum, Iftikharullah Jan, Samiullah Khan, Malik Adeel Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid, and Muhammad Israr.

This cabinet expansion comes after Governor Kundi recently dismissed rumours of an impending change in the provincial government. Earlier this month, he had refuted speculation about the possible return of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to the office, terming such expectations unrealistic.