Portfolios of Shahzad Akbar, Malik Amin changed in federal cabinet

ISLAMABAD: The portfolios of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, Shahzad Akbar, and Adviser to PM on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, have been changed in the federal cabinet on Wednesday.

As per details, Barrister Mirza Shahzad Akbar has been appointed as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior with the status of a federal minister.

A notification from the Cabinet Division issued said the barrister’s appointment as the adviser came on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advice to President Dr Arif Alvi.

On the other hand, Malik Amin Aslam, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, has been appointed as Special Assistant for Climate Change and his post will be equal to that of the Federal Minister.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communications Shahbaz Gill also shared the notification, which stated that Akbar “shall cease to hold the office of the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior” consequent to upon his appointment as the adviser.

وزیراعظم پاکستان جناب عمران خان نے مرزا شہزاد اکبر کو مشیر برائےاحتساب اور داخلہ امور (وفاقی وزیر) تعینات کیا ہے۔ وہ اس سے پہلےوہ معاون خصوصی برائے احتساب اور داخلہ امور اپنے فرائض انجام دے رہے تھے۔ pic.twitter.com/Kq8kZYZpID

— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) July 22, 2020

Akbar had been wearing three hats — that of Special Assistant on Accountability and Interior Ministry as well as the chief of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) with the status of minister of state — since December 2019, making him one of the powerful individuals in the PTI-led government.

A former official of Pakistan’s anti-graft watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Akbar is a human rights lawyer who had campaigned globally for the victims of drone strikes.

He is also the director of the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, an organization that provides legal aid to enforce fundamental rights guaranteed under the country’s constitution.