ISLAMABAD: Following the imposition of emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the federal government has formed an 11-member technocratic advisory council to assist Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in running the affairs of the province.
The council will advise the governor on key provincial departments and assist him in exercising the functions of the KP government on behalf of the federal administration.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the members as competent individuals who will support the provincial administration during the current constitutional arrangement.
Here is a look at the members of the newly formed KP Advisory Council and their assigned portfolios:
Kifayatullah Khan has been given responsibility for Home Department affairs. He previously served as KP prisons inspector general, chairman of the Fata Tribunal, secretary of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department and Mardan commissioner.
Tariq Mehmood Pasha, a former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, will oversee financial affairs. He has also served as secretary of the Economic Affairs Division and special assistant to the prime minister on finance.
Amir Javed, a Supreme Court advocate and former KP advocate general, will advise on legal matters. He has also served as additional and deputy attorney general for Pakistan.
Syed Amir Abdullah has been assigned education affairs. He is a former caretaker provincial minister and holds a PhD in international relations.
Lt Gen (retd) Nigar Johar Khan will also serve on the council. A former three-star army officer and military medical professional, she was the first woman in Pakistan to attain the rank of lieutenant general.
Sarfraz Ali Shah, who previously served as an adviser on planning and development, will oversee Mines and Minerals. He holds a PhD in economics.
Muhammad Irshad, a former FBR chairman and Pakistan Red Crescent Society management board member, has been assigned Industries and Commerce.
Asif Rafiq, a former KP caretaker minister, will oversee Communication and Works.
Maulana Muhammad Tayyab Qureshi, KP’s chief khateeb, will advise on religious affairs.
Osman Saifullah Khan, a former senator and member of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute board of governors, has been assigned energy affairs.
Samar Haroon Bilour, a PML-N MNA and former KP Assembly member, will advise on information and broadcasting.
The formation of the council comes at a significant political juncture as the federal government takes administrative control of KP under Governor’s Rule.
