KP CM appoints four more aides

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur on Thursday appointed three special assistants and one advisor and assigned them different important portfolios.

Interestingly, most of these portfolios were previously assigned to provincial ministers, which the chief minister will now run through his special assistants and advisors.This is the first reshuffle of the cabinet members in just six months tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah was relieved of his previous position as health minister and assigned him a new responsibility of social welfare and women empowerment.The portfolio of the health department was assigned to a young lawyer from Takht Bhai in Mardan district, Ihtesham Khan.

There have been major financial scandals in procurement of medicines in the health department. There are reports some of scandals are related to the previous caretaker government but since some powerful figures were allegedly involved in the medicine corruption scandals, therefore neither an proper inquiry has been initiated nor arrests are made.

Chief Minister Gandapur will now administer the health through his advisor, Ihtesham Khan.Similarly, the chief minister appointed Mussawar Khan as special assistant for forests, Nek Mohammad Khan as special assistant for relief development, Mohammad Sohail Afridi as special assistant for communications and work department and Humayun Khan as special assistant for prisons.