Liaqat Khattak sworn in as minister

PESHAWAR: Governor Shah Farman on Monday administered the oath to Member Provincial Assembly Liaqat Khattak as a provincial minister.

The ceremony was arranged at the Governor’s House, said an official handout. Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Provincial Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, ministers, MPAs, government officials and others attended the function. Later, the governor greeted the new provincial cabinet member who is the younger brother of Pervez Khattak and wished him success in discharging his new responsibilities. Liaqat Khattak is a former district nazim of Nowshera. He was elected to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in by-election. He won the PK-64 Nowshera seat vacated by his brother, former chief minister Pervez Khattak. The latter preferred to retain his National Assembly seat to become the defence minister in the federal cabinet.

Pervez Khattak had won one National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats in the July 2018 general election. One of his provincial assembly seats was won by his son Ibrahim Khattak in the by-election.

The award of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tickets to his brother and son to contest the by-election had triggered a controversy.The PTI had managed to win all the national and provincial assembly seats from Nowshera district in the 2018 polls. Meanwhile, Liaqat Khattak was accorded a warm welcome when he reached his native Manki Sharif area after taking the oath of the office.