MUZAFFARABAD: The new 20-member cabinet of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) is scheduled to take oath today at the Presidential House in Muzaffarabad.
Due to the illness of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mehmood, the oath-taking ceremony will be administered by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Chaudhry Latif Akbar. Newly elected Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore will also attend the ceremony.
Mian Abdul Waheed, who served as Law Minister in the previous cabinet under former Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, is expected to be appointed as the Senior Minister in the new setup. The cabinet comprises 18 ministers and 2 advisors.
Among those likely to join the cabinet are Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Sardar Javed Ayub, Bazal Naqvi, Zia-ul-Qamar, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, and Chaudhry Yasir Sultan. Other expected members include Javed Iqbal Budhani, Amir Yaseen, Chaudhry Rasheed, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Chaudhry Ikhlaq, Diwan Ali Chughtai, Chaudhry Arshad, Ali Shan Soni, and Rafiq Neer. Female Assembly member Nabila Ayub is expected to be appointed as an advisor. No member from the Muhajir community is included in the cabinet.
The oath-taking ceremony was postponed yesterday due to incomplete consultations. Initially, only 10 ministers were proposed, but the plan was rejected by assembly members.
Consultations led by PPP leader Faryal Talpur and Prime Minister-elect Faisal Mumtaz Rathore over the past two days finalized the cabinet list and portfolio allocations.
Following the oath, Prime Minister Rathore will assign departments to each cabinet member.