Muzaffarabad (Web Desk): The newly appointed 20-member cabinet of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was sworn in on Wednesday during a ceremony held at the Presidential House in Muzaffarabad.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Latif Akbar administered the oath, while AJK’s newly elected Prime Minister Sardar Faisal Mumtaz Rathore attended the proceedings.
The cabinet features 18 ministers and two advisors, all of whom took their oaths at the event.
Those inducted as ministers include Sardar Faheem Rabbani, Chaudhry Ikhlaq, Yasir Sultan, Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Nabeela Ayub, Chaudhry Rashid, Chaudhry Arshad, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Javed Ayub, Qasim Majeed, Rafiq Nayer, Deewan Chughtai, Malik Zafar, Ziaul Qamar, Amir Yasin, Bazil Naqvi, Mian Abdul Waheed and Ali Shan Soni.
The prime minister himself administered the oath to the two newly appointed advisors.
As per the sources, the formation of this cabinet is likely to reinforce the government’s position and bring political steadiness, helping it push forward with its planned programmes.
The process of finalising the cabinet, however, was not without delays. An earlier proposal for a 10-member cabinet failed to win support from assembly members, prompting further consultations.
These discussions were led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Faryal Talpur along with Prime Minister Rathore.