ISLAMABAD (AP) — The 19-member Cabinet of Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was sworn in Monday during a brief ceremony.
President Asif Ali Zardari administered the ministers’ oaths at the President’s Office — a sprawling white-marble building — in the capital, Islamabad, with Sharif in attendance.
This came days after Sharif was selected as prime minister in parliament following an alliance between his Pakistan Muslim League-N party and others. Sharif held the same position from April 2022 to August 2023, when he replaced archrival Imran Khan.
The new premier is expected to meet up with Cabinet members to address multiple issues as Pakistan reels from an economic crisis, regular power cuts, a surge in militant attacks and a challenging relationship with neighboring Taliban-run Afghanistan.
Among the prominent lawmakers and politicians inducted into the Cabinet are Ishaq Dar, a former Finance Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, who had previously served as the defense minister in Sharif’s Cabinet, and Mohsin Naqvi, who served as the caretaker chief minister in the eastern Punjab province.
Pakistan’s president, who holds a ceremonial role, is a main ally of Sharif. So far, Zadari’s Pakistan People’s Party has no presence in the Cabinet. His son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was the foreign minister during Sharif’s previous stint as premier.
On Sunday, police detained dozens of Khan’s supporters while protesting alleged rigging in last month’s parliamentary elections which the ousted politician’s party claimed was aimed at blocking it from getting a majority. Election officials have denied the charge.