With just over a month before its five-year term comes to a close on May 31, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government added five federal ministers and one state minister to the cabinet on Friday.
Marvi Memon, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Anusha Rehman and Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary took oath as federal ministers, whereas Leila Khan was sworn as the minister of state by President Mamnoon Hussain at the President’s House.
Earlier in the day, Adviser to Prime Minister Miftah Ismail was sworn in as new federal minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs. His appointment came hours before the PML-N government’s last budget in the National Assembly.
Ismail’s appointment as a federal minister is a rarity since he is not an elected member of the parliament. The notification of his promotion cites Article 92(1) read with 91(9) of the Constitution as the basis of his appointment.
Ismail succeeds Ishaq Dar, who has been in London for medical treatment since October 2017. Dar has been declared an absconder by an accountability court in corruption reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau.
Published in Daily Times, April 28th 2018.
