AJK ministers given portfolios
MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 26: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Thursday allotted portfolios to his 24-member cabinet, apparently bringing the alleged discomfort among the ministers to an end.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Services and General Administration Department here after iftar.
The ministers were waiting for their portfolios for the past two weeks and disquiet in their ranks by the unusual delay had become quite visible.
Following are the names of the ministers along with their portfolios:
Chaudhry Mohammad Aziz, Senior Minister, Minister for Home, Prisons, Armed Services Board; Malick Mohammad Nawaz, Local Government and Rural Development; Syed Murtaz Ali Gillani, Physical Planning and Housing; Shamim Ali Malick, Social Welfare; Abdul Rasheed Abbasi, Finance and Planning and Development; Col (retired) Mohammad Nasim Khan, Public Works Department, Bagh Development Authoriy; Abdul Qayyum Niazi, Forests, Azad Kashmir Mineral and Industrial Development Corporation; Sardar Sayab Khalid, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Pearl Development Authority; Ali Shan Soni, Revenue, Stamps, Custodian Evacuee Property; Chaudhry Mohammad Yousuf, Mangla Dam Affairs, Fisheries; Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed, Trade and Industries and Animal Husbandry; Nasreen Mazhar Rani, Women Development, Technical and Vocational Training Authority; Ahmed Raza Qadri, Sports and Youth Affairs, Transport; Dr Mohammad Najeeb Naqi, Health, additional charge of Education (colleges) and Information Technology; Pir Attiqur Rehman Faizpuri, Zakat and Usher, Islamic Ideological Council; Mirza Shafique Jaral, Electricity; Naheed Tariq, Population Welfare, Small Industries; Chaudhry Mohammad Ismail, Rehabilitation and Civil Defence; Hafiz Hamid Raza, Auqaf and Religious Affairs; Abdul Majid Khan, Azad Kashmir Logging and Sawmills Corporation and Agriculture; Mahmood Riaz, Information and Overseas Investment Board, Environment; Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, Food; Mohammad Tahir Khokhar, Tourism, Culture and Archaeology; Sardar Farooq Ahmed Tahir, Education (schools). The Hydro Electric Board was retained by the prime minister.
Earlier in the day, official sources had told Dawn that the delay in allocation of portfolios was caused mainly because of the traditional ‘tug of war’ among several cabinet members over what are considered “lucrative departments.”