PM names new petroleum and privatisation chiefs in reshuffle

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif appointed new heads for the key petroleum and privatisation portfolios— both departments seen as central to the country's recovery from an economic crisis.

- Tariq Butt

Former junior finance minister Ali Pervaiz Malik was appointed as petroleum minister in a broader cabinet reshuffle.

Muhammad Ali, formerly the special assistant to the prime minister on the power sector, has taken over as adviser for privatisation. Bilal Azhar Kayani will take over as Pakistan's Minister for Railways. The ministry is in talks with China to upgrade and reconstruct Pakistan's railway network, and develop the Gwadar port, under China's $65 billion investment in Pakistan, part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

A separate notification said that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak has been appointed Adviser to PM on Interior Affairs.

Shahbaz Sharif's long-time trusted bureaucrat, Dr Tauqir Shah, is re-joining his core team as an adviser in the Prime Minister's Office.

Dr Tauqir, who was serving as executive director at the World Bank, recently resigned from his prestigious international role at the premier's request. Sharif sought his return to bolster the efficiency and performance of his office. He has been given the status of federal minister.