PESHAWAR: A decision has been made in principle after approval by Prime Minister Imran Khan to expand the cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It has been decided in principle to also include a woman from tribal districts in the provincial cabinet. It will be first time a tribal woman will be included in the KP cabinet.
Sources said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has accorded approval to the proposal of cabinet expansion. The names of the expected MPAs who will be included in the cabinet have also been dispatched to Imran Khan. However, these names have not been disclosed yet.
The prime minister has given full authority to Chief Minister Mehmood Khan to make expansion of the provincial cabinet. Sources said that for the first time, a woman from tribal districts will also become part of the provincial cabinet.
KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said while talking to media that the decision of expansion in the provincial cabinet was already taken when first-ever provincial elections in the tribal districts were held. He confirmed that the prime minister has approved the expansion in the cabinet. He said Chief Minister Mehmood Khan will formally announce expansion of the cabinet and names of new ministers next week.
In the recently held provincial elections in tribal districts, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the largest party by winning six seats, while two independent winning candidates also joined the ruling party after the elections. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) got three seats in the elections, Al-Haaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi group also got three seats, while the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) got one seat each.
The Al-Haaj group MPAs later joined the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). According to the formula of women’s four seats, the ruling PTI got two seats, while the JUI-F and BAP got one seat each.
The ruling PTI got two women’s seats after the elections and sources said one of them is likely to get place in the provincial cabinet. However, it is not known yet which of the MPA will get the cabinet seat. If implemented, this step of the government will be considered a milestone in empowering the tribal women.
