By Xinhua
Islamabad : Pakistan’s federal ministers were sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf at the presidential house Monday, marking the belated formation of the country’s new cabinet.
The 24 federal ministers who took oath are only the first batch of a coalition cabinet, which is expected to be expanded later.
The first batch of ministers was sworn in after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani Saturday won a unanimous vote of confidence at the National Assembly and unveiled a 100-day action plan.
Gillani, from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was elected prime minister by the National Assembly March 24 and sworn in the next day, but the formation of his cabinet had been held up over differences among coalition partners over distribution of portfolios.
According to the agreement, the coalition partners would share the ministries in proportion to the National Assembly seats they won in the Feb 18 general elections.
The coalition, which also includes the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and two smaller partners, managed to send a list of the first batch of 24 nominees after a series of meetings.