Eight AJK Ministers Receive Portfolios

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Iftikhar Gillani distributed portfolios among his eight-member council of ministers on Saturday, a day after the relatively small cabinet took its oath.

A government notification cited Rule 3(4) of the Rules of Business (Revised), 1985. Gillani retained several key departments, apparently while awaiting elections for seven seats in the Poonch and Sudhnoti districts and considering a possible expansion of the cabinet.

The prime minister kept Local Government and Rural Development, Communications and Works, Finance and Inland Revenue, Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Information and Information Technology, and Planning and Development.

Sardar Mir Akbar received Physical Planning and Housing and the Bagh Development Authority. Waqar Ahmed Noor was assigned Forests, Wildlife and Fisheries, while Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbasi took charge of health. Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq received Higher Education, and Sardar Umair Naeem was assigned Elementary and Secondary Education.

Raja Saqib Majeed will oversee Energy and Water Resources. Raja Muhammad Riasat was given Revenue and Rehabilitation, while Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain received Tourism, Industry, Labour and Mineral Resources.

After the assignments, Gillani chaired a meeting on the priorities of the government’s 100-day programme. Officials said it will focus on health, education, opportunities for young people, public facilities and infrastructure. Gillani said the PML-N government would pursue good governance in line with party president Nawaz Sharif’s vision and work to provide basic services directly to residents.