Sheikh Rashid appointed interior minister of Pakistan

Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid has been replaced by Azam Swati while Ijaz Shah has been appointed as minister for Narcotics Control. The decision to appoint Rashid as interior minister shocked many amid the opposition protests.

Furthermore, finance adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has been handed the portfolio of the finance ministry.

This is the third federal cabinet shakeup in less than 3 years of PTI government. The reshuffle comes days after the Islamabad High Court ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government’s committees and had subsequently set aside the notification of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, headed by Shaikh. The move was seen as a major blow to government’s privatisation efforts that were being spearheaded by unelected members of the federal cabinet.