President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday administered the oath of office to members of the newly appointed 16-member caretaker federal cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr that was attended by Interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians and prominent figures from different sectors. The ceremony commenced with the national anthem before the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.
Among newly appointed federal cabinet members who took oath, included Senator Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Shamshad Akhtar, Lt. General (Retd) Anwar Ali Hyder, Murtaza Solangi, Sami Saeed, Shahid Ashraf Tarar, Ahmad Irfan Aslam, Muhammad Ali, Gohar Ejaz, Umar Saif, Nadeem Jan, Khalil George, Aneeq Ahmed, Jamal Shah and Madad Ali Sindhi.
The members of the newly-appointed interim federal cabinet vowed to cope with the challenges confronting the country and serve the masses within their short stint.
Talking to newsmen after his oath, Murtaza Solangi said that the masses would be ready to back the government if it succeeded to create closeness with them. The minister said if he were given the portfolio of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, he would strive to modernise the state media institutions, including the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan to make them cope with the modern trends.
Talking to APP, former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is also part of the interim cabinet, said the main objective of the foreign policy was to serve the national interests. He said the caretaker cabinet would strive to serve the country’s interest through national consensus and improve cordial ties with ountries like China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and South Asian states, among others. He said Pakistan should further strengthen its relationship with China being a strategic partner with great economic cooperation.
Similarly, he said, the success of the Afghan government was also essential that should play its role to eliminate terrorism. Moreover, Jilani said, he also desired that Pakistan’s all longstanding disputes with India should be resolved peacefully including Kashmir, Sir Creek and water issues. Madad Ali Sindhi told the media that if given the portfolio of education and youth ministry, he, in cooperation with his team, would strive for the promotion of education in the country. He said the caretaker government would also address the issue of confrontation in student politics as disputes among the student unions adversely impacted the working of universities.
Renowned actor and director Jamal Shah, who was also sworn in, said if given the portfolio of the culture ministry, he would serve to promote the country’s cultural heritage as coming from the same field, he was cognizant of the potential in the culture sector.
