Karachi Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan on Wednesday administered oath of office to nine new ministers of the provincial government and appointed two more advisers to the chief minister, bringing the total strength of the cabinet to 16 provincial ministers and three advisers to the CM. All the members of the cabinet – provincial ministers or advisers to the CM – are affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party. The oath-taking ceremony at the Governor House was attended by Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah and other provincial ministers. According to a handout issued by the Governor House, portfolios have been allocated to the newly inducted ministers in the provincial cabinet. The expansion of the cabinet after more than a month since the formation of the Pakistan People’s Party government in the province strongly suggests that there is a very slim chance of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement joining the PPP as a coalition partner once again. After the killings of MQM provincial legislator Sajid Qureshi and his son on June 21, the party withheld the results of the public referendum it had held for soliciting the opinion of its supporters throughout the country whether or not to join the provincial government on the PPP’s offer. The results of the referendum are yet to be made public. Article 130(6) of the Constitution, which deals with the strength of the provincial cabinets, says: “...the total strength of the Cabinet shall not exceed 15 members, or 11 percent of the total membership of a provincial assembly, whichever is higher.” The total strength of the members of the Sindh Assembly is 168. New ministers The new ministers and their portfolios are: Awais Muzaffar, Local Government, Housing, Town Planning, and Rural Development. Muzaffar would also hold the additional charge of the Public Engineering Department (he was earlier appointed as the chairman of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board; Jam Mehtab Dahar: Food; Ali Mardan Shah: Population Welfare Department; Gayan Chand: Forest and Wildlife; Mukesh Kumar Chawla: Excise and Taxation; Rubina Qaimkhani: Women Development, Social Welfare, and Special Education; Dost Ali Rahimoon: Auqaf, Zakat and Ushr; Javed Nagori: Katchi Abadis; and Jam Khan Shoro: Livestock. According to a notification issued by the chief secretary, Muhammad Khan Junejo and Hasnain Mirza were appointed as advisers to the CM. Junejo is the disqualified MPA-elect of the PPP from Sanghar, while Mirza is an MPA who is the son of former home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza. The members of the cabinet who took oath of the office of minister on May 30 on the formation of the new provincial government include: Nisar Ahmed Khuhro: Education and Literacy; Sharjeel Inam Memon: Information and Archives; Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro: Law and Parliamentary Affairs; Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani: Works and Services Department; Manzoor Hussain Wasan: Prisons, Mines and Mineral Development; Makhdoom Jamil-uz-Zaman: Revenue (excluding Land Utilisation), Relief, and Rehabilitation; and Ali Nawaz Khan Mehar: Agriculture. Murad Ali Shah has already been working as the CM’s finance adviser. Shah was the key authority who helped the new provincial government to prepare its budget for the fiscal year 2013-14.
