MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The first phase of government formation in Azad Kashmir is likely to be completed today as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to form the cabinet in two phases.
According to sources, 8 ministers are likely to be inducted into the cabinet today in the first phase, with their oath-taking to take place after 4 pm at the President House in Muzaffarabad.
Acting President of AJK, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, will administer the oath to the newly elected ministers.
Prime Minister Barrister Iftikhar Gilani and PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir jointly chaired a meeting of the parliamentary party of the PML-N this afternoon.
The meeting was attended by elected members of the PML-N assembly and ticket holders. A total of 39 members and ticket holders of the parliamentary party participated in the meeting.
Final names of cabinet
According to sources, the final names and portfolios of the first-phase cabinet will be approved in the meeting.
It is expected that Waqar Ahmed Noor will be given the Higher Education portfolio, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq will be given the Agriculture portfolio, Raja Saqib Majeed will be given the Local Government portfolio, Raja Umair Naeem will be given the Education portfolio, Raja Riyatzat will be given the Electricity portfolio, Sardar Mir Akbar Khan will be given the Forest portfolio, Mustafa Bashir Abbasi will be given the Health portfolio, while Abdul Rehman Arain, who won from the Overseas reserved seat, is likely to be given the Tourism and Industry portfolio.
Sources say that some prospective ministers have also expressed reservations about the proposed portfolios; however, Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani has assured them that the reservations will be removed.
More ministers and advisors will be included in the second phase of the cabinet, while the final decision for the first phase of cabinet formation has been taken at the parliamentary party meeting.
