Caretaker cabinet likely to take oath today
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Ex-SBP governor Shamshad Akhtar tipped as the interim finance minister
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar is likely to take oath today at 5pm following an official announcement of the names of selected members, sources told Dunya News.
They said the premier completed the consultation regarding his cabinet members on Wednesday, with several known names being tipped for key posts in the caretaker setup.
Shamshad Akhtar is likely to be the finance czar. Gohar Ejaz had been nominated as the commerce and industries minister and Dr Tabish as the energy minister, while Aneeq Ahmad and Dr Umar Saif were also likely to be appointed as interm ministers, the sources added.
They further said other proposed names for the cabinet were Sarfraz Bugti, Muhammad Ali, Jalil Abbas Jilani and Sultan Ali Allana.
According to Dunya News, Mr Kakar has more or less finalised the names for his cabinet as both Hafeez Shaikh and Reza Baqir are not among the candidates being considered for the coveted finance minister slot.
Also Read: Hafeez Shaikh, Reza Baqir not among finance minister probables as Kakar finalises cabinet
Ex-finance minister Shaikh and former State Bank governor Baqir were in the office at the same time when the current economic crisis started surfacing which later pushed the inflation and the interest rates to the all-time high levels.
The sources said Sultan Ali Allana – a renowned banker currently serving as the Habib Bank chairman and a director at the Aga Khan Fund for Development – had been picked yesterday (Tuesday) for managing the ministry in the current turbulent period.
However, things changed when his dual nationality came to light.
Hence, two other names are now under consideration for the caretaker finance minister as the new cabinet can be announced today (Wednesday) and the oath taking to take place tomorrow. Kakar is, therefore, in the final phase of consultations to complete the process.
According to the sources, Jalil Abbas Jilani – a former foreign secretary and ambassador to the United States – is expected to be the minister for foreign affairs while Syed Muhammad Ali – not Muhammad Ali Durrani as suggested by some circles – will run the affairs of information ministry.
On the other hand, it is predicted that Senator Safraz Bugti – the former Balochistan home minister – would be chosen as the interior minister in the caretaker setup.
