A summary regarding the appointment of the provincial cabinet was forwarded today to KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali. Following the subsequent approval of the summary, the appointment of ministers was officially announced. It is anticipated that the cabinet members will take their oaths later in the evening.
The designated ministers comprise Arshad Ayub Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Fazal Hakim Khan, Muhammad Adnan Qadri, Aqibullah Khan, Muhammad Sajjad, Meena Khan, Fazal Shakoor, Nazir Ahmad Abbasi, Pakhtoon Yar Khan, Aftab Alam Khan Afridi, Khaleequr Rehman, Syed Qasim Ali Shah, Faisal Khan Tarakai, and Muhammad Zahir Shah.
Syed Fakhar Jehan, Muzamil Aslam, Muhammad Ali Saif, Mashal Azam, and Zahid Chanzeb have been appointed as advisers to the chief minister.
This development follows a meeting between CM Gandapur and the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where they discussed the formation of the provincial cabinet.
PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan informed Dawn that during the meeting, among other matters, the names of provincial cabinet members were deliberated.
However, CM Gandapur, speaking to the media after the meeting with Imran, reiterated that PTI would not reconcile with the Shehbaz Sharif-led PML-N government, alleging its formation through electoral malpractices. Nonetheless, he expressed intentions to maintain a working relationship with the federal government.
The PTI-backed independents, now allied with the Sunni Ittehad Council, secured a significant victory in KP, winning over 85 of the 115 general seats in the provincial assembly.
In the recent maiden session of the KP Assembly, approximately 115 MPAs took their oaths. Notably, the previous assembly was dissolved in January 2023, leaving KP without a provincial legislature for over 13 months.
