LAHORE: Rana Mashhood has relinquished the charge of the law and parliamentary affairs ministry which has been handed over to Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, and provincial minister Col Shuja Khanzada (retd) has been given the additional charge of home department. Rana Mashhood, however, would continue to hold portfolios of sports and education ministries, said a notification issued Monday. Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman is already holding the portfolio of excise and taxation and is an MPA elected from PP-141, the seat falling under NA-119 where Hamza Shahbaz, son of chief minister, is the MNA. This is the second major change in the law ministry since June when Rana Sanaullah Khan had to lose his portfolio following the Model Town incident of June 16-17. In that incident, 14 people, who were the followers of Dr Tahirul Qadri, were killed as a result of clash with police. Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, the new law minister of Punjab has served as education, excise and taxation minister as well as finance in the 2008 term. He has been elected member of the Punjab Assembly for third term in 2013 and remained MPA in 2002 and 2008. He also served as a town naib nazim for a brief period between 2001 and 2002. When contacted, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman stated that like past, he would once again fulfill the responsibility as the minister and perform his duty with dedication. Meanwhile, Col Shuja Khanzada (retd) has also been given a charge of home department. Shuja Khanzada, who hails from Attock, is currently serving as minister for environment protection. He has returned to the Punjab Assembly for third term since 2002. In 2002, he was elected on the PML-Q ticket. Talking to The News, Khanzada stated that he was aware of the fact that an important responsibility had been assigned to him and he would play his role in addressing the challenges.
