ISLAMABAD, 2 September 2004 — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf swore in an expanded 32-member Cabinet headed by new Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz yesterday.
The new Cabinet includes all 20 members of the previous Cabinet and 12 new full ministers, state-run Pakistan Television reported.
The portfolios are likely to be announced today. Officials said Aziz, credited with turning around Pakistan’s economic fortunes over the past five years, would retain the Finance Ministry while foreign affairs would stay in the hands of Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who has led peace talks with India. Six advisers to the prime minister are likely to be named.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the information minister in the former Cabinet who is expected to keep his ministry, told reporters a “large number” of junior ministers would be added to the Cabinet this week as part of an exercise to groom “young blood”.
New faces include Javed Ashraf Qazi, a former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Qazi is a trusted ally of Musharraf and served as railways minister under him after he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
Officials said the portfolios of some ministers could be changed, with Qazi a possibility to take over from Faisal Saleh Hayat at the Interior Ministry. But analysts say Cabinet changes will not entail dramatic policy shifts and there would be no changes in Pakistan’s support for the US-led war on terror, which would continue to be led by Musharraf, who wields ultimate power as president. Officials have said Aziz was likely to appoint a deputy for the finance portfolio, with Omar Ayub, grandson of Pakistan’s first military ruler Field Marshal Ayub Khan, seen as one of the main contenders.
Aziz, a former Citibank executive, was elected prime minister on Friday by the National Assembly. The decision to expand the Cabinet and increase the number of ministries was taken in order to allocate more posts to coalition partners. It has been criticized by some as going against efforts to make government more efficient and streamlined.
Musharraf picked Aziz in June to become head of government after the abrupt resignation of Zafarullah Khan Jamali, then prime minister. Aziz had to win a parliamentary seat before taking up the post.
The new Cabinet retains former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, ex-Information Minister Sheikh Rashid and former Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, who are likely to retain their portfolios.
Other ministers retained in the new Cabinet include Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, Awais Ahmed Leghari, Babar Khan Ghauri, Faisal Saleh Hayat, Ghaus Bux Mehr, Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Habibullah Waraich, Humayun Akhtar, Liaquat Jatoi, Ejazul Haq, Mohammad Ajmal Khan, Mohammad Naseer Khan, Chaudhry Naurez Shakoor, Syed Safwan Ullah, Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind and Zobaida Jalal.
The 12 new members are Abdul Razzaq Thahim, Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, retired Lt. Gen. Javed Ashraf, Jahangir Khan Tareen, Wasi Zafar, Shamim Siddiqui, Mushtaq Ali Cheema, Mian Shamim Haider, Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain, Sher Afgan Niazi and Tahir Iqbal.
