Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) newly formed 13-member cabinet of Chief Minister (CM) Sohail Afridi has taken oath in a ceremony held at Governor House Peshawar.
The cabinet, which includes ten ministers, two advisers and one special assistant, will work under CM Afridi, who replaced Ali Amin Gandapur as the provincial chief executive earlier this month.
The oath-taking ceremony comes hours after the cabinet was named following CM Afridi’s consultation with jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, who gave him the nod to proceed with the appointments.
Earlier, Afridi had repeatedly sought to meet the incarcerated former premier for guidance but was denied permission despite court orders.
On Friday, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered oath to Mina Khan, Fazal Shakoor, Faisal Turkai, Aaqibullah, Arshad Ayub Khan, Aftab Alam, Dr Amjad, Khaliq Ur Rehman, Riaz Khan and Syed Fakhar Jehan as provincial ministers.
The governor also administered oath to Muzammil Aslam and Taj Muhammad Tarand as advisers while Shafeeullah Jan took oath as a special assistant.
While their respective portfolios will be announced later, CM Afridi’s cabinet is significantly smaller than Gandapur’s initial 33-member setup that was later reduced after a reshuffle.
On Oct 13, Afridi had assumed office after securing 90 votes in provincial assembly session boycotted by the JUI-F, PML-N and PPP.