Politics
19:07, 04-Aug-2017
Pakistan's new cabinet sworn in
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Pakistan's new cabinet led by newly-elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was sworn in on Friday, after the former leader Nawaz Sharif resigned over a corruption scandal.
Abbasi, 58, served as minister of petroleum and natural resources in Sharif's administration and had spent most of his political life on Sharif's side.
Pakistan state TV said 44 cabinet members took the oath at a ceremony attended by Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and other diplomats, bureaucrats and senior military officials.
Newly-elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (C) speaks at Parliament House in Islamabad. Pakistan's parliament elected ruling party loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister on August 1, 2017. / AFP Photo
Newly-elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (C) speaks at Parliament House in Islamabad. Pakistan's parliament elected ruling party loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister on August 1, 2017. / AFP Photo
It will be the first time for Pakistan to have a full-time foreign minister since the Pakistan Muslim League party came into power in 2013. Former Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif will serve the post.
All the members are considered loyalists to the former Sharif.
More representation has been given to the southern parts of Punjab province to strengthen its position ahead of the next year's parliamentary elections, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Nawaz Sharif resigned last Friday after the Supreme Court disqualified him for not declaring a source of income which he denies of receiving.
On Saturday, Sharif's ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominated Sharif's younger brother, Shahbaz, who now serves as the chief minister of Punjab Province, as the ousted PM's successor.
(Top image: file photo)
3889km
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