Pakistan’s new cabinet sworn in days after Imran Khan ousted

Pakistan Muslim League, which is back in power after four years, has 14 ministers in Cabinet, while Pakistan Peoples Party has 11 members

Pakistan’s new cabinet took oath in a ceremony on Tuesday, days after former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted following a no-confidence vote.

The oath follows a week-long deliberation over the final names to be included in the cabinet after Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the successor to Mr Khan.

The delay in forming the cabinet was reportedly due to Mr Sharif‘s wish to accommodate all his allies in the government, formed after all opposition parties united to remove Mr Khan.

The oath ceremony was initially scheduled for Monday. But local media reports said Pakistan president Arif Alvi, who was meant to officiate the ceremony, suddenly went on leave over apparent “discomfort”. It was later scheduled for Tuesday.

While the names of the 30 federal ministers who took the oath were revealed in an official announcement by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office, their Cabinet portfolios have not yet been announced.

The ministers include some prominent members from the Pakistan Muslim League – the opposition front from which the newly elected prime minister comes – such as Marriyum Aurangzeb, Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah and Rana Tanvir.

It also included Sherry Rehman, a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who previously served as the first female leader of the opposition in the Senate and as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2013.

The Pakistan Muslim League, which is back in power after four years of Mr Khan’s term, has 14 ministers in the Cabinet, while the PPP has 11 members.

These two parties, along with others, formed a united front to oppose Mr Khan, who had been facing allegations of mishandling the economy amid high inflation in the country.

Mr Khan, 69, formerly a cricket icon who won a world cup in 1992 for the country, lost the no-confidence motion after his allies joined the opposition front. However, he is continuing his efforts to regain power and has been addressing massive rallies in the country in a show of power.

The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Justice Movement) party, Mr Khan alleged there is a “foreign conspiracy” behind his ousting.

Mr Sharif, his successor, is the younger brother of Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was also the founder of the PML-N, and disqualified from holding office.