There’s something different about Pakistan’s newly formed cabinet helmed by its new Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: It includes Darshan Lal, the first Hindu in a Pakistan government in more than 20 years.
Abbasi has appointed Lal, a minority community member, as minister of state for inter-provincial coordination to lead coordination between four Pakistani provinces, a government official told Reuters.
Who Is Darshan Lal?
The Times of India reports that Lal, 65, is a doctor from the Ghotki district of Sindh who in 2013 was elected to the national assembly on a PML-N ticket on a reserved seat for minorities.
Meanwhile, the new Cabinet largely retained old faces but had some new leaders included as ministers of state.
The cabinet members and their portfolios were finalised by Abbasi after six-hour-long consultations with his predecessor Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the resort town of Murree on Wednesday.
President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to 27 ministers and 16 ministers of state at a ceremony at the President's House in Islamabad.
The first meeting of cabinet was chaired by Abbasi, who congratulated the ministers for joining the Cabinet.
According to an official statement, Abbasi promised to continue the journey of "progress and democracy" initiated by ex-premier Sharif.
Two days ago, Prime Minister Abbasi had delayed the formation of the Cabinet after meeting Sharif.
Sharif has been staying in Murree since he vacated the official residence earlier this week after the Supreme Court disqualified him in connection with the Panama Papers scandal.
The transition to the new Cabinet has taken exactly seven days since Sharif's ouster on 28 July.
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)