ISLAMABAD, April 2: Fourteen members of the caretaker cabinet took oath on Tuesday for 39 days, while one was sent home for being a serving government employee.

The members of the cabinet are: Malik Habib, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Dr Musaddaq Malik, Arif Nizami, Sohail Wajahat H. Siddique, Shahzada Ahsan Ashraf Sheikh, Maqbool H.H. Rahmatoola, Abdul Malik Kasi, Asadullah Mandokhel, Mir Hassan Dhomki, Dr Sania Nishtar, Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, Dr Younis Soomro and Shahzada Jamal.

The portfolios of the caretaker ministers will be announced later.

It is expected that another two or three ministers will join the cabinet in a couple of days, including the State Bank of Pakistan’s Chief Economist Dr Mushtaq Khan who could not take oath on Tuesday with the first batch of ministers because of being a government servant.

The oath was administered by President Asif Ali Zardari at a ceremony held in the presidency. Caretaker Prime Minister retired Justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso and National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza also attended the ceremony. The National Assembly was dissolved after the completion of its five-year term on March 16, the caretaker prime minister took oath of office on March 25 and general elections will be held on May 11.

When contacted, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Shafqat Jalil said he was not aware why Dr Khan was stopped from taking oath.

Guests gathered in the banquet hall of the presidency for the ceremony were surprised to see that a chair placed for the 15th member was removed from the table set for cabinet members in front of the stage where President Zardari and Prime Minister Khoso were sitting. The chair had been placed for Dr Khan but his name was dropped a few minutes before the ceremony.

Dr Khan, who was sitting in the front row on the right side of the stage, was asked not to join other members when they took the oath.

SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar went to Dr Khan and talked to him for a few minutes, apparently advising him against taking oath. He later went back to the third row and Dr Asim Hussain, former petroleum minister and currently a personal physician of President Zardari, took his seat.

When the guests went later to another room for refreshment, Dr Anwar and Dr Khan remained in the hall where the ceremony had taken place.

When some reporters asked Dr Khan why he had not taken oath, he said he could not talk on the matter and Dr Anwar would be the better person to answer the question.

Dr Anwar said: “We will sort out the issue in a couple of days.”

Sources in the presidency said Dr Khan had been asked to resign from the SBP before coming to Islamabad for taking oath but it transpired on Tuesday that he had not done so.

The matter was brought to the notice of the president and the prime minister and, as a result, the ceremony began at 4.18pm instead of 4pm.

Observers here are of the opinion that the interior ministry will be given to former inspector general Malik Habib, law to Ahmer Bilal Soofi, information to Arif Nizami, petroleum and natural resources to Sohail Wajahat and capital administration and development to Dr Sania Nishtar.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Habib said he had been assured of the portfolio of interior. “Maintenance of law and order and peace during the coming polls would be my top priority.”

Replying to a question, he said troops “will be deployed, if required, at sensitive places but not everywhere in the country”.

Mr Habib said he would focus on the security situation in Sindh and Balochistan. The situation in Khyber Pakhtunhwa was different, he said.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that caretaker minister Sohail Wajahat H. Siddique is also serving as Chairman of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO), a government-run organisation, but some people believe this job does not fall in the category of government service.

Mr Siddique is said to be a confidant of former petroleum minister Dr Hussain who accompanied him during the function.

It has been mentioned in the audit report of 2011-12 published in the media that perks and privileges given to the Mr Siddique as PSO chairman were ‘illegal’. The audit department also recommended recovery of the amount spent on his perks and privileges. The facilities approved by the PSO board for its chairman cost over Rs2.4 million per month, the report said.