Pakistan's six-member caretaker govt under Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk to take charge until polls

Islamabad: Pakistan’s six-member caretaker federal cabinet on Tuesday took oath to run the government under Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk till the upcoming general election. [caption id=“attachment_4497149” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] President Mamnoon Hussain administered oath of office to the members of the Cabinet at a ceremony. A statement issued by office of the president said the ceremony was attended, among others, by caretaker prime minister and retired judge Mulk. Those who took oath on Tuesday include Shamshad Akhtar, Roshan Khurshid, Ali Zafar, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Azam Khan and Muhammad Yousaf Sheikh. The Prime Minister’s Office said that Haroon was appointed as foreign minister and he will have additional charge of the ministries of defence and defence production. Haroon belongs to a leading business family of Karachi and he in the past has served as Pakistan’s ambassador at the UN. Azam Khan, former chief secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province was appointed as interior minister whereas former governor of State Bank of Pakistan, Akhtar was appointed as finance minister. Zafar was given charge of the law ministry. After the oath-taking ceremony, the caretaker prime minister and his Cabinet members also held a meeting with President Hussain. The president expressed the confidence that the caretaker set up will fulfil its responsibilities regarding conduct of free, fair and transparent elections in the country. He said it is a matter of satisfaction that a democratically elected government completed its tenure for the second time.