LAHORE, Dec 1: Five ministers, an equal number of advisers to the chief minister were inducted in the Punjab cabinet on Friday. Besides, five special assistants were also appointed.

Two ministers were dropped and portfolios of 12 others were changed in a major reshuffle by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi.

Official sources said the cabinet had been expanded and reshuffled to make political adjustments needed to prepare for the next general election. Inefficiency of some ministers reportedly led to the change in their portfolios.

Sources said the changes were long overdue but the chief minister was busy in addressing other issues.

The five new ministers who were administered oath by Governor Khalid Maqbool at the Governor’s House are: Dr Suhail Zafar Cheema (commerce and investment), Mohammad Moeenuddin Riaz Qureshi (sports), Sardar Darya Khan Fayyaz (fisheries), Dr Anjum Amjad (environment) and Zile Huma Usman (social welfare).

The dropped ministers are Jam Mohammad Hashim Ghalija (fisheries) and Qudsia Lodhi (special education).

Food Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal was made health minister and Labour and Human Resource Minister Akhtar Hussain Rizvi was made agriculture marketing minister. Excise and Taxation Minister Dr Mohammad Shafique Chaudhry was made literacy and non-formal basic education minister, and was replaced by Transport Minister Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan.

Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Minister Hussain Jahanian Gardezi was made food minister and Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed was given the portfolio of special education.

Environment Protection Minister Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad was made human rights minister and Public Health Engineering Minister Mushtaq Ahmad Kiani was made management and professional development minister in place of Sardar Hassan Akhtar Mokal who was given the portfolio of Mr Kiani.

Agriculture Marketing Minister Rana Mohammad Qasim Noon was made labour minister, minister without portfolio Ghulam Mohyuddin Chishti was made transport minister and Social Welfare Minister Ashifa Riaz Fatyana was given the portfolio of women development.

The advisers to the chief minister are Maj Asghar Hayat Kalyar (retired), Saba Sadiq, Malik Khalid Mehmood Waran, Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani and Mohammad Mansha Sandhu.

The special assistants are Makhdoom Ali Akbar, Syed Mowahid Hussain, Hafiz Iqbal Khakwani, Abid Hussain Chattha and Lt-Col Shujaat Ahmad Khan (retired). Except for Abid Hussain, all advisers and special assistants were among the advisers to the Punjab government or the chief minister and special assistants who were removed as a result of a Lahore High Court order last month.

Talking to reporters after the oath-taking ceremony, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi hoped that induction of the new ministers in the cabinet and the reshuffle would improve working of the provincial government.

He said the government had provided maximum funds to areas neglected by past governments. He said those areas had also been given ample representation in the cabinet.

He said assemblies would complete their tenure and the next general election would be held on schedule.

He alleged that the PPP had always been following the policy of hoodwinking people.

He said elements habitual of taking out rallies and holding protests did not want the country progress, but the government would foil their designs. He said the government had offered negotiations to Qazi Hussain Ahmad on the women’s protection bill, but he had nothing to do with the bill and merely wanted to disrupt the present set-up.