ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's 21-member Cabinet was sworn in Monday, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged to cut government spending, end corruption and repatriate public funds. President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath of office to 16 federal ministers in Islamabad. Separately, Khan has also appointed five advisers to his Cabinet.
Khan, whose populist party won most parliament seats in the July 25 elections but fell short of a majority, forcing it to form a coalition, took the oath of office on Saturday as Pakistan's 22nd premier. He campaigned on promises of rooting out endemic corruption and breaking powerful landowners' monopoly on political power. "I want to see Pakistan a great country" with social services for the poor, Khan said.
Foreign policy to be revised
Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said after taking oath of office that he is aware of foreign policy challenges ahead. Foreign policy, he said, will be revised and set on the correct path, in the "interest of Pakistan." Qureshi said he would reach out to counterparts in the region and focus on key issues of critical importance to Pakistan. "Pakistan needs a peaceful and stabilized Afghanistan; our future is linked to peace in Afghanistan" Qureshi said. He said he wants to visit Kabul soon with a message that "we have to help and support each other and have to look for solutions of each other's problems."
Both neighboring India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and cannot afford any adventure, he said. "We have long standing, complex problems and have no option but to start a dialogue." He welcomed that Indian Prime Minister Modi in a congratulatory message to Khan expressed desire for talks. As for ties with the United States, Qureshi said Pakistan wants bilateral relations based on respect and trust. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to make a stop in Islamabad on his way to India and Afghanistan in the first week of September. "There is a trust deficit in our relations from both sides and we have to bridge it" Qureshi said of US and Pakistan. "In meetings with the US secretary of state, I will boldly apprise him of our aspirations."
Modi offers Imran ‘constructive engagement’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to Imran Khan expressing India’s commitment to a “meaningful and constructive engagement” and recalled their recent conversation about a shared vision of peace to rid the Indian subcontinent of terrorism. Modi wrote to Khan immediately after the Pakistani leader’s swearing-in on August 18 about the need to build good neighbourly relations and engagement for the benefit of people of the region, official sources said in Delhi. Indian officials, however, clarified that this should not be read as an invitation to restart the comprehensive bilateral dialogue launched in December 2015.
The clarification from Indian officials came after Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in Islamabad that Modi’s letter “indicated the beginning of talks between the two countries”. This was denied by Indian officials who said no suggestion had been made for resumption of the formal dialogue process.
Later, in an official statement, Pakistan denied saying that Modi had made an offer of dialogue and said the two leaders underlined the significance of moving ahead through constructive engagement.
Imran takes oath
Imran Khan took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of the country last week. The ceremony was attended by former Indian cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who arrived in Pakistan on Friday.
Good for peace: Sidhu
Sidhu hoped that Imran's accession to the prime minister's post will be good for Pakistan-India peace process. Sidhu was among the special guests present at Khan's oath-taking ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President House). Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa after arriving at the ceremony went to the front row of the guests where Sidhu was seated next to President of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Masood Khan. Gen Bajwa hugged Sidhu and both chatted briefly. Warm smiles were exchanged. As the two chatted, they hugged once more. "A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country," said Sidhu and hoped that Imran's victory will be good for the Pakistan-India peace process.
