ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi formed his cabinet on Friday, filling it with his toppled predecessor Nawaz Sharif‘s aides and allies. It also included the first Hindu in a Pakistan Government in more than 20 years, Darshan Lal.
Darshan Lal would head coordination between four Pakistani provinces, a government official said. Lal, 65, is a practising doctor from Mirpur Mathelo town in Ghotki district of Sindh. In 2013, he was elected r the second time on PML-N ticket on a reserved seat for minorities.
The “reshuffle” was aimed at bolstering support for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ahead of the general elections in mid-2018, with President Mamnoon Hussain administering the oath of office to 47-member cabinet that included 28 federal and 19 state ministers in a televised ceremony at his official residence.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif, minister for defence and power in previous cabinet, was appointed the country’s new foreign minister. Pakistan was without a foreign minister since Sharif became PM in 2013. The last foreign minister was Hina Rabbani Khar. (AGENCIES)
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