LAHORE, Jan 3: A 25-member Punjab cabinet was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Governor’s House here on Friday evening.

Four MPAs were appointed special assistants and an equal number advisers to the chief minister, putting the strength of the provincial cabinet at 33. The cabinet will have its first meeting on Saturday morning.

Governor Khalid Maqbool administered the oath to the ministers after Chief Secretary Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa read out the letter of their appointment.

Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi sat beside the governor at the dais and acting president of PML-Q Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the first row of the parliamentarians in the Darbar Hall.

Most of the new ministers were not aware of their portfolios till their oath. And many looked surprized and even shocked after checking their departments from a list provided to reporters by the officials concerned.

As against the expectations, no woman MPA was taken as minister. The team of ministers included only one MPA of the PPP Patriots Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad and the National Alliance’s Hussain Jahania Gardezi. One of them, Mian Aslam Iqbal, was elected as an independent candidate but had later joined the PML-Q.

The important portfolios of law, finance, local government and rural development, and information have not been allotted to anyone.

The cabinet included two former ministers Arshad Khan Lodhi and Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal, and two former parliamentary secretaries Imran Masood and Dr Shafiq Chaudhry.

The ministers and their portfolios are: Arshad Khan Lodhi (Sahiwal) Agriculture, Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal (Gujranwala) Food, Akhtar Hussain Rizvi (Sialkot) Labour and Human Resources, Mian Imran Masood (Gujrat) Education, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin (Faisalabad) Communication and Works, Gul Hameed Khan Rokri (Mianwali) Revenue, Relief and Consolidation.

Dr Mohammad Shafique Chaudhry (Faisalabad) Prison, Manazir Ali Ranjha (Sargodha) Colonies, Mohammad Sibtain Khan (Mianwali) Mines and Minerals, Amir Sultan Cheema (Sargodha) Irrigation and Power, Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan (Gujranwala) Transport, Col Malik Mohammad Anwar Khan (retired) (Attock) Co-operatives.

Khadim Hussain Wattoo (Bahawalnagar) Zakat and Ushr, Dr Tahir Ali Javed (Narowal) Health, Mohammad Ajmal Cheema (Sialkot) Industries, Syed Haroon Ahmad Sultan (Muzaffargarh) Livestock and Dairy Development, Dr Ashfaqur Rehman (Toba Tek Singh) Forestry and Fisheries, Mian Mohammad Aslam Iqbal (Lahore) Tourism, Naeemullah Shahani (Bhakkar) Sports.

Hussain Jahania Gardezi (Khanewal) Literacy and Non-formal Urban Education, Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad (Rahim Yar Khan) Environment Protection, Syed Raza Gilani (Okara) Housing and Urban Development, Jam Mohammad Hashim Ghalicha (Rajanpur) Population Welfare, Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak (Bahawalpur) Excise and Taxation and Chaudhry Shaukat Ali Bhatti (Hafizabad) Culture and Youth Affairs.

Raja Mohammad Basharat, Makhdoom Ali Akbar, Col Shuja Khanzada (retired) and Dr Suhail Zafar Cheema were appointed special assistants, and Jahangir Khan Tarin, Lt-Col Shujaat Ahmad Khan (retired), Maj Asghar Hayat Kalyar (retired) and Naeem Raza advisers to the chief minister.

Talking to reporters, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said the cabinet had been selected on political considerations and while keeping in view members’ experience and expertise. Young people had also been included in the cabinet, he said.

He said more ministers, including women, would be taken in the cabinet in the second and third phases. He did not disclose the final number of his cabinet ministers and advisers and said its (cabinet) size would be ‘reasonable’.

The chief minister said the cabinet might look large because it belonged to a big province, having more assembly members than the National Assembly.

He said he had already explained priorities of his government and people would see more development in many fields in near future. A lot was being done to improve law and order situation in the province.

The chief minister expressed the hope that the cabinet would perform well.

He denied any differences with the provincial governor and said they had been working in close liaison from the day one. Those spreading the news of the removal of the governor were mischief mongers, he said.

Chaudhry Pervaiz denied that the government was trying to influence the byelections, saying there was no need to indulge in such practices when his PML-Q was set to win majority seats.

He told a questioner that he had not promised reinstatement of the dismissed teachers and doctors. He had asked them to file appeals against their dismissals, and they would be reinstated after the fulfilment of all legal requirements.

Earlier, the governor, who looked happy, appreciated the selection of the cabinet, saying it was composed of new and experienced parliamentarians.

He termed the induction of the cabinet a good omen for the nation. He said for the first time in the history of Pakistan a military setup had peacefully transferred power to the civilian government. Both these parties were moving ahead in peace and agreement, showing political maturity of the nation.

The governor hoped that all sides of the system would work hand-in-hand.

The ceremony was attended by a number of legislators, their relatives and friends, the Punjab Assembly speaker and the deputy speaker, senior civil and military officers, including the Rangers director-general.