Four PTI MPAs to take oath as KP ministers today

PESHAWAR: Four Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly including former provincial ministers Mohammad Atif Khan and Shakeel Ahmad are set to take oath as members of the provincial cabinet today, senior party leaders told The News.

According to Kamran Khan Bangash, special assistant to the chief minister on information and spokesman of the provincial government, two other MPAs, including Fazal Shakoor Khan from Charsadda district and Faisal Amin Gandapur from Dera Ismail Khan would also become part of the cabinet.

Atif Khan belongs to Mardan while Shakeel Ahmad hails from the Malakand district. Fazal Shakoor Khan, who is known for changing parties, and Faisal Amin Gandapur, the brother of federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur, would be the two new faces in the cabinet.

According to Kamran Bangash and other PTI sources, portfolios of these ministers would be decided later.“It is the prerogative of the chief minister to decide the portfolios of the ministers,” a cabinet member close to the chief minister told The News on condition of anonymity.

Atif Khan and Shakeel Ahmad along with Shahram Khan Tarakai were part of the cabinet when they developed differences with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and were removed from the cabinet in January 2020 on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan on disciplinary grounds.Atif Khan was minister of sports, culture and tourism, Shahram Tarakai was the health minister, while Shakeel Ahmad was minister of revenue and estate.

Shahram Tarakai, hailing from the wealthy and well-known Tarakai family from Swabi, later resolved his issues with the chief minister and was brought back to the cabinet. He is holding the portfolio of elementary education.

Prime Minister Imran Khan a few months ago intervened and resolved differences between Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Atif Khan.He had invited both of them along with Governor Shah Farman to the PM House for the meeting. Earlier, he had reposed complete trust in the chief minister and authorized him to take Atif Khan back in his cabinet or keep him out.

Shah Farman had played a leading role in resolving the differences between Mahmood Khan and Atif Khan.Before that, Shah Farman had resolved the differences between the chief minister and Shahram Tarakai.