Pakistan’s New Cabinet: Muslim League secures nearly all seats
Following controversial elections in Pakistan and after Shahbaz Sharif was appointed as Prime Minister and Asif Ali Zardari as President, the new cabinet of the country has been announced. Almost all selected ministers are members of the Muslim League party, with only one woman’s name standing out in the 19-member list of Pakistan’s new cabinet. […]
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Following controversial elections in Pakistan and after Shahbaz Sharif was appointed as Prime Minister and Asif Ali Zardari as President, the new cabinet of the country has been announced. Almost all selected ministers are members of the Muslim League party, with only one woman’s name standing out in the 19-member list of Pakistan’s new cabinet.
The new government of Pakistan has been formed in the wake of the February 8th elections and is largely termed as a coalition government, with the Muslim League-Nawaz at the helm and parties such as “Strengthening Pakistan” and “United National People’s Movement” forming it, but no member of the People’s Party under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is seen in the new cabinet list.
The “Strengthening Pakistan” and “United National People’s Movement” parties have each secured a cabinet seat in the Pakistani coalition government, with 16 seats of this cabinet belonging to members of the Muslim League, challenging the coalition nature of the government.
According to Pakistani media reports, Fatima Khawaja has been appointed as the only woman in Pakistan’s new cabinet as the Minister of Telecommunications and Technology.
In the list of Pakistan’s cabinet, it can be seen that Ishaq Dar has been appointed as the Foreign Minister, Mohsin Reza Naqvi as the Interior Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif retained his previous position as Defense Minister, and Muhammad Orangzeb as the Finance Minister in the government’s cabinet.
According to The New York Times, the new government of Shahbaz Sharif faces daunting challenges including an unprecedented economic crisis, regular power cuts, almost daily semi-military attacks, and a challenging relationship with its neighbors. Shahbaz Sharif promised to tackle the insecure economic crisis in his first cabinet meeting amidst these crises.
Zardari was appointed as President of Pakistan by the newly elected assembly on Saturday. His office holds more ceremonial roles, and he will be the main ally of Shahbaz Sharif in this presidential term. However, no member of the People’s Party of Pakistan has been appointed to the cabinet under Mr. Zardari’s leadership. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Zardari’s son, was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the previous term.
The new cabinet of Shahbaz Sharif with 19 members officially takes on the responsibility of governing Pakistan’s population of 241 million, a country in South Asia facing deep economic, political, and security challenges.
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