The Cabinet of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, has taken oath today in a ceremony at Governor Punjab’s House. Governor Punjab Baleegh-ur-Rehman administered the oath to the newly inducted members of the cabinet.
The members who were sworn in today include Mian Aslam Iqbal, Mohsin Laghari, Raja Basharat, Taimoor Malik, Ansar Niazi, Raja Yasir Hamayun, Muneeb Sultan Cheema, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Khurram Shehzad Virk, Muhammad Hashim and others.
It is reported that the selection of a cabinet took a while because the new CM Parvez Elahi wanted more people in his cabinet whereas the PTI leadership wanted to limit the number of Cabinet members. It is also to be noted that the new Cabinet does not have any member from PMLQ.
Read more: PTI weighs options for key Punjab assembly posts
However, according to a tweet posted by Monas Elahi, Imran Khan has allowed PMLQ members to join the second slot of Cabinet.
Met PM @ImranKhanPTI today. Assured him that he has already made us Punjab chief minister and nothing further is required. He was gracious enough to allow cabinet slots in 2nd phase. pic.twitter.com/wIIvNWcHsG
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) August 4, 2022
It was also presumed that Governor Punjab, who is a member of PMLN, would not agree to administer oath to the 21 newly selected Cabinet members because he had previously refused to administer oath to Parvez Elahi, who was consequently sworn in by the President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi.
In the end however, it was Governor Punjab Baleegh-ur-Rehman who took oath from the members of Punjab Cabinet.
Most members of Elahi’s Cabinet are the same people who were earlier members of ex- CM Usman Buzdar’s Cabinet. These include Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Muraad Raas, Mian Aslam, Raja Basharat, Ansar Majeed Niazi, Taimoor Malik, Raja Yasir Hamayun and Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed.
Read more: CM Punjab will meet Imran Khan to discuss way forward
The Cabinet members who were not a part of Buzdar’s Cabinet include Ali Afzal Sahi. Khurram Shehzad Virk and Umar Cheema who has previously served as Governor Punjab.
The oath taking ceremony was attended by CM Parvez Elahi and other politicians. Congratulating the newly inducted ministers, the CM told them to perform their responsibilities efficiently.
Oath taking ceremony of Punjab Government’s cabinet. #لیڈر_صرف_عمران_خان pic.twitter.com/CEURSAyRg3
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 6, 2022
“It is hoped that the provincial ministers will work day and night to serve the people and meet the expectations of the people of Punjab”, he said.
Below is a list of all the members that were sworn in today with their designated departments.
| Name | Department |
| Muhammad Muneeb Sultan Cheema | Transport |
| Syed Hussain Jahanain Gardezi | Agriculture |
| Ghazanfar Abbas Cheema | Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal |
| Muhammad Mohsin Leghari | Finance |
| Muhammad Raja Basharat | Cooperative/Public Prosecution |
| Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi | Labour and Human Resource |
| Muhammad Taimoor Khan | Youth Affairs and Spots/Culture |
| Raja Yasir Hamayun | Higher Education/Punjab Information Technology Board |
| Syed Abbas Ali Shah | Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Department |
| Sardar Husnain Bahardar Dreshak | Food/Energy |
| Yasmin Rashid | Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education/Primary and Secondary Health |
| Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan | Revenue |
| Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed | Local Government and Community Development |
| Col (R) Muhammad Hashim Dogar | Prisons/Home |
| Shahab-ud-Din Khan Sehar | Livestock and Dairy Development |
| Murad Ras | School Education |
| Khurram Shahzad Virk | Law and Parliamentary affairs |
| Sardar Muhammad Asif Nakai | Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control |
| Ali Afzal Sahi | Communications and Works |
| Muhammad Latif Nazir | Mines and Minerals |
| Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal | Housing, Urban Development, and Public Health Engineering/ Industries, Commerce Investment, and Skills Development Department |