ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday reshuffled several key cabinet ministers.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has been appointed the new interior minister. Azam Swati has been appointed as the new Railways Minister. He was earlier serving as federal minister for Narcotics Control.
Federal Minister for Interior Brigadier (retired) Ijaz Ahmed Shah has been given the portfolio as Minister for Narcotics Control.
Earlier today, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was sworn in as a federal minister in an oath-taking ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The reshuffle comes days after the Islamabad High Court ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government committees and cabinet proceedings.
The IHC had aside a notification through which the prime minister had reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) headed by Hafeez Shaikh and declared it illegal.
The prime minister had consulted with his legal team to discuss the complications arising out of the court verdict. The Cabinet Division had prepared a summary for the PM’s Office for the reconstitution of the four committees following the court ruling.
The IHC decision has also Commerce Adviser Abdur Razak Dawood, Institutional Reforms Adviser Dr Ishrat Husain and special assistants Dr Fasial Sultan, Nadeem Baber, Tabish Gauhar and Dr Waqar Masood as all of them hold important portfolios.
It is reported that Razaq Dawood and Faisal Sultan could be appointed as federal ministers until the Senate elections next year. They are likely to given Senate tickets so they could continue holding these positions.
