Mulk’s interim cabinet members take oath

• Six-member cabinet includes former SBP governor Shamshad Akhtar, former ambassador to UN Abdullah Hussain Haroon among others 

ISLAMABAD: A six-member caretaker federal cabinet was sworn in at a ceremony held at the President House, Islamabad, on Tuesday.

President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to the newly inducted members of the cabinet, who will assist Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk, the caretaker prime minister, in managing the affairs of the country till the next government takes over following the polls.

The ceremony was attended by the prime minister among others personalities.

The oath was administered to State Bank of Pakistan’s former governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Roshan Khurshid, Barrister Ali Zafar, former ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Azam Khan and Muhammad Yusuf Shaikh.

Members of the cabinet and their portfolios:

• Dr Shamshad Akhtar: Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Statistics and Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms. Additional portfolios: Ministry of Commerce and Textile and Ministry of Industries and Production.
• Abdullah Hussain Haroon: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security Division. Additional portfolios: Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Defence Production.
• Roshan Khursheed Bharucha: Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and Ministry of States and Frontier Regions.
• Muhammad Azam Khan: Capital Administration and Development Division and Ministry of Narcotics Control. Additional Portfolios: Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.
• Syed Ali Zafar Shah: Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage.
• Mohammad Yusuf Shaikh: Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. Additional portfolios: Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony.

The caretaker cabinet will serve until a new government is elected through the 2018 general elections scheduled for July 25. It is pertinent to note that the federal cabinet is one-third the size of Sindh caretaker cabinet, as hinted by Mulk after taking the oath.

Nasirul Mulk had spent the weekend in his hometown of Swat to hold the consultations with his close aides in Swat to finalise the caretaker cabinet away from the media spotlight.

CABINET MEMBERS’ PROFILE:

Doctor Shamshad Akhtar is currently serving as the coordinator of the five United Nations regional commissions. Formerly, Dr Shamshad Akhtar was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Senior Adviser on Economics and Finance, and Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Dr Shahshad Akhtar has previously served as governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In 2008, The Wall Street Journal Asia also recognised her as one of Asia’s top-ten professional women.

Dr Shamshad Akhtar served as vice president of the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank. She served in the Asian Development Bank for almost 15 years, rising through the ranks from senior economist, to the highest professional positions, including special senior advisor to the president of ADB, and director-general of the South-East Asia region.

Abdullah Hussain Haroon has served as the Pakistan ambassador to the United Nations from September 2008 to December 2012. A scion of the Haroon family, he is a businessman, social activist and a former Sindh Assembly speaker who was a board member of various educational institutes, sports associations and charity organisations.

Hussain Haroon’s appointment as the permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, replacing veteran Munir Akram, was controversial because Haroon had no prior experience in the Pakistan Foreign Service or international diplomacy.

Roshan Khursheed Bharucha is an educationist and has served as Balochistan minister and was also a member of the Senate. She currently runs a not for profit NGO in Balochistan and is also a member of National Commission for Human Development.

Muhammad Azam Khan, an officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), has served as the KP chief secretary. Azam Khan has served as FATA additional chief secretary, sports, tourism and youth affairs secretary, home and tribal affairs secretary and as Peshawar commissioner.

Barrister Syed Ali Zafar is a son of senior lawyer and one of the authors of the Constitution, SM Zafar. Ali Zafar has served as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.