Pakistan: PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appointed foreign minister

This is the first time he will be serving as a member of the federal cabinet

AFP

Published: Wed 27 Apr 2022, 11:43 PM

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday took oath as the foreign minister of Pakistan, ending speculation about his role in the new government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

President Arif Alvi administered the oath to 33-year-old Bilawal at a ceremony at the Aiwan-i-Sadr (President’s House), where PM Shehbaz, former president Asif Ali Zardari and other officials as well as leaders of the PPP were present.

This is the first time he will be serving as a member of the federal cabinet. He was first elected to the National Assembly in 2018.

He became the head of the ministry of foreign affairs at a crucial juncture when Pakistan needed a stable hand to steer the foreign policy through the choppy waters.

Bilawal’s sister Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari had congratulated him earlier in the day for taking oath as the country’s foreign minister. “Today Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will take oath as Pakistan’s foreign minister in this unity government — decided by PPP CEC (central executive committee) and we couldn’t be more proud of him! Already outshone in parliament and always stuck to his democratic values — excited to witness this path if God wills,” she had tweeted.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Bilawal had also explained his decision of joining PM Shehbaz’s cabinet and said “one-sided decision making” was not possible and it was up to all the political parties to find solutions to the problems collectively, Dawn reported.

“We have to understand that this isn’t an ordinary coalition government. This unity government is a result of the parties on the opposition benches going to the treasury benches for the first time in the history of Pakistan. This is a very big challenge [and] everyone must play their role and share their burdens,” he had added. — agencies