Murad inducts four more ministers, three advisers, 13 special assistants into cabinet

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah expanded his cabinet on Thursday by inducting four more ministers, three advisers and 13 special assistants, ballooning the cabinet size to 51. At the same time, three ministers and an adviser were shown the door.

The Sindh Governor, Imran Ismail, administered the oath in a ceremony to the new four ministers, Mohammad Sajid Jokhio, Gianchand Essrani, Syed Zia Abbas Shah and Jam Khan Shoro at the Governor’s House.

The ceremony was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and provincial ministers.Zia Abbas Shah, an MPA from Tando Allahyar, is a new face in the cabinet. Shah is a member of the provincial assembly for the last two tenures. He is the son of PPP stalwart Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi. Sajid Jokhio, Gianchand Essrani and Jam Khan Shoro had previously served as provincial ministers in the last PPP government.

During the ceremony, the chief secretary also announced the appointment of CM’s three advisers: Manzoor Hussain Wassan, Fayaz Ali Butt and Rasool Bux Chandio. Wassan is one of the senior-most PPP leaders and has previously served almost all the PPP-led provincial governments as a minister on different portfolios, including Home. Gianchand has also served as Minister for Excise and was directly elected an MPA from Thano Bola Khan, District Jamshoro. Sajid Jokho also served as minister for Zakat & Usher Department during the last PPP tenure.

The cabinet size has swelled to 51 with the addition of four new ministers, the number of ministers has gone up to 18. At the same time three more advisers have been appointed, while one stands dismissed, taking their number to five. Besides 13 more special assistants have been inducted and one denotified,taking their number to 28.

With the appointment of new ministers, the portfolios of the existing Sindh cabinet members have also been reshuffled. Ismail Rahoo got Universities and Boards, Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development; Makhdoom Mahboob got Revenue; Saeed Ghani: Labour and Information Department; Syed Sardar Ali Shah was given Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Education; Taimur Talpur tasked with Forests; Syed Nasir Shah got Local Government, Housing & Town Planning and Public Health Engineering; Jam Ikramullah Dharejo was assigned Industries and Cooperation; Sajid Jokhio was given Social Welfare; Mukesh Kumar Chawla got Excise, Taxation, Narcotics, Parliamentary Affairs, and Food; Giyanchand Essrani got Minorities Affairs; Zia Abbas Shah was assigned Works & Services and Jam Khan Shoro was given Irrigation Department. The chief minister has reallocated portfolio of law to his adviser Murtaza Wahab (who will also continue as the spokesman for Sindh govt), Prisons to Aijaz Jakhrani, Agriculture to Manzoor Hussain Wassan, Zakat Ushr & Religious Affairs to Fayaz Butt and Rehabilitation & Relief to Rasool Bux Chandio.

The chief minister has allocated/reallocated portfolios to 15 special assistants. Waqar Mehdi got Political Affairs and Chief Minister’s Inspection Team, Qasim Naveed, Investment Department and Public Private Partnership Projects, Bungul Khan Maher, Wildlife and Enquiries & Anti-Corruption Establishment, Tanzeela Umi Habiba, Information Technology Department, Liaquat Ali Askani, Katchi Abadies/Human Settlement Department, Sadhumal Surender Valasi, Human Rights Department, Sadiq Ali Memon, Persons with Disabilities Department, Paras Dero, Youth Affairs Department, Ali Ahmed Jan appointed to look after matters relating to District West, Mohammad Asif Khan, matters relating to District Keamari, Salman Abdullah Murad, matters relating to District Malir, Iqbal Sandh, matters relating to District East, Saghir Qureshi, matters relating to Hyderabad City and Arslan Islam Shaikh, matters relating to Sukkur City.

Meanwhile, three members of the Sindh cabinet faced the proverbial axe and were also removed from their ministerial posts. They are Hari Ram Kishori Lal, who was Sindh food minister, Sohail Anwar Siyal, who was provincial irrigation and auqaf minister, and Faraz Dero who was Sindh rehabilitation minister. Senior PPP leader, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who is also President of Sindh chapter of People’s Party, has also been removed as the adviser to Sindh CM on Works, Services and Universities and Boards.