Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken a significant step towards forming the new government by forwarding a list of proposed federal cabinet members to President Asif Zardari. The list includes 19 individuals, with names such as Attaullah Tarar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Jam Kamal, Ameer Muqam, and Awais Laghari, among others. Additionally, prominent figures like Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanveer, Abdul Aleem Khan, and Azam Nazir Tarar are also included in the list.
The list also recommends the appointment of Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema, and Mohsin Naqvi as ministers of state, although they will have the status of federal ministers. Furthermore, former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Dr. Musadik Malik, and Shaza Fatima have been proposed for ministerial positions, with Ishaq Dar and Musadik Malik set to become federal ministers and Shaza Fatima a minister of state.
The federal cabinet is scheduled to take the oath at 3 pm at the Presidency, with President Asif Ali Zardari administering the oath to the new cabinet members. Prime Minister Sharif has called the maiden meeting of his cabinet at 5 pm, right after they take oath, at the PM House.
This development marks a crucial milestone in the formation of the new government, which faces significant challenges, including an unprecedented economic crisis, regular power cuts, near-daily militant attacks, and a challenging relationship with neighboring Taliban-run Afghanistan.
