The Second Shehbaz Sharif government is the incumbent federal cabinet and Government led by Shehbaz Sharif after he was sworn into office on 11 March 2024 opposition parties following a No-confidence motion against Imran Khan in incumbent former prime minister Imran Khan during Pakistani political unrest.
Cabinet formation On March 6 the Cabinet Division issued the de-notification of the caretaker cabinet. The next day PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar said that the federal cabinet would be finalized within the next 48 hours. Adding that HBL President Muhammad Aurangzeb would be considered for the financial portfolio, remarking “The most important portfolio is the finance ministry as the economy has to be revived and the matters with the IMF will have to be taken forward." Shehbaz Sharif would host a dinner together with leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) over Federal Cabinet finalization. PML-N would request for the PPP to join the cabinet, however Bilawal Bhutto would announce that it would support PML-N in government formation without joining cabinet, addressing PPP's CEC meeting “The PPP has decided that while we are not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor will we be interested in taking ministries in such a set-up, we also do not want to see political chaos in the country. We do not want to see perpetual crisis in the country,” he said. On March 9 Nawaz Sharif directed Shehbaz Sharif to implement the parties manifesto after the formation of the federal cabinet. Later Nawaz would direct the PM to keep the federal cabinet small in the initial phase. During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif would table the proposed names of the Federal Cabinet to the PML-N leader. Four-time finance minister and Sharif family associate Ishaq Dar would drop out the race for the position of Minister of Finance & Revenue. According to the Tribune, an anonymous PML-N leader claimed that the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as Interior Minister would "erode the government's credibility", according to another anonymous PML-N leader, Ishaq Dar was not chosen due to the PM's preference for a new Finance minister.
Prior to the inauguration of the Federal Cabinet, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly tied cabinet formation as a pre-condition for the sending of an IMF team to Pakistan to negotiate and finalize another bailout from the Fund.
On March 11 President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the PM's 19-member federal cabinet. The proposals for appointment was made under clause 1 of Article 92 (federal ministers and ministers of state) of the Constitution. On the same day Muhammad Aurangzeb, the new finance minister would renounce his Dutch nationality and be granted Pakistani nationality as well as resign from his position as CEO of Habib Bank Limited. The nineteen member cabinet includes many veteran politicians and newcomers. Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema, former caretaker ministers would be included amongst other PML-N stalwarts. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the President's House (Aiwan-i-Sadr). On March 12 the new Federal cabinet members assumed charge after allocation of their portfolios. The new cabinet was criticized for sidelining some members of the elected coalition, seen in the absence of Ishaq Dar in the financial portfolio and Rana Sanaullah as interior minister, traditional supporters of Nawaz Sharif. Shehbaz Sharif's position as Prime Minister has also been seen as to maintain strong relations with the military and ensuring its influence in administration. The military's backing of the new cabinet composition has also been seen as a way to send a message against the political opposition that attempts to undermine the new government will be met with force and push through reforms, such as through the SIFC.
Composition of cabinet
Federal ministers Federal ministersNamePortfolioPartyCitation1Shehbaz Sharif PMLN2Ishaq DarDPM/Foreign AffairsPMLN3Khawaja AsifDefensePMLN4Ahsan IqbalPlanning DevelopmentPMLN5Rana Tanveer HussainFood SecurityPMLN6Azam Nazeer TararJusticePMLN7Chaudhry Salik HussainOverseas PakistanisPMLQ8Aleem KhanCommunicationsIPP9Jam Kamal KhanCommercePMLN10Amir Muqam Kashmir and Gilgit-BaltistanPMLN11Awais LeghariEnergyPMLN12Attaullah TararInformation and BroadcastingPMLN13Khalid Maqbool SiddiquiEducationMQM-P14Qaiser Ahmed SheikhBoard of InvestmentPMLN15Riaz Hussain PirzadaHousingsPMLN16Musadik MalikClimate Change and EnvinronmentPMLN17Muhammad AurangzebFinancePMLN18Ahad CheemaEconomicsPMLN19Mohsin NaqviInterior and Narcotics ControlIND20Tariq Fazal ChaudhryParliamentary AffairsPMLN21Ali Pervaiz MalikPetroleum DivisionPMLN22Aurangzeb Khan KhichiNational Heritage and CulturePMLN23Hanif AbbasiRailwaysPMLN24Khalid Hussain MagsiScience and TechnologyBAP25Muhammad Moeen WattooWater ResourcesPMLN26Muhammad Junaid AnwarMaritime AffairsPMLN27Raza Hayat HirajDefense ProductionPMLN28Sardar Muhammad YousufReligious AffairsPMLN29Shaza Fatima KhawajaInformation TechnologyPMLN30Rana Mubashir IqbalMinistry of Public Affairs UnitPMLN31Syed Mustafa KamalHealthMQM-P32Syed Imran Ahmed ShahPoverty Alleviation and Social SafetyPMLN
Ministers Of State Minister of State#NamePortfolioPartyCitation1Awn ChawdharyMinister of State for Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resources DevelopmentIPP2Abdul Rehman KanjuMinister of State for Power and Public Affairs UnitPMLN3Aqeel MalikMinister of State for Law and JusticePMLN4Bilal Azhar KayaniMinister of State for Finance and Revenue, Railway and head of Prime Minister’s Delivery UnitPMLN5Kheal Das KohistaniMinister of State for Religious Affairs and Interfaith HarmonyPMLN6Mukhtar Ahmad BharathMinister of State for National Health Services, Regulations & CoordinationPMLN7Talal ChaudhryMinister of State for Interior and Narcotics ControlPMLN8Wajiha QamarMinister of State for Federal Education and Professional TrainingIPP9Malik Rasheed Ahmed Khan Minister of State for National Food Security and ResearchPMLN10Armaghan SubhaniMinister of State for Planning, Development & Special InitiativesPMLN11 Shezra Mansab Ali KhanMinister of State for Climate Change and Environmental CoordinationPMLN
Adviser to the prime minister Adviser to the prime minister#NamePortfolioPartyCitation1Rana SanaullahPolitical and Public Affairs Inter-Provincial CoordinationPMLN2Syed Tauqeer Hussain ShahPrime Minister's OfficePMLN3Muhammad AliPrivatizationIndependent4Pervez KhattakInterior AffairsPTI-P 5 Haroon Akhtar Khan Industries and Production PMLN
Special assistant to the prime minister Special assistant to the prime minister#NamePortfolioStatusPartyCitation1Tariq FatemiMinister of StatePMLN2Bilal Bin SaqibBlockchain and CryptoMinister of State PMLN3Muhammad SadiqSpecial Representative of Pakistan on AfghanistanMinister of StatePMLN4Tariq BajwaCoordination of the Deputy Prime Minister OfficeMinister of StatePMLN5Fahd Haroon Digital Media Minister of State PMLN6Huzaifa RehmanNational Heritage & CultureMinister of StatePMLN7Mubarak ZebTribal AffairsMinister of StateANP8 Talha BurkiPolitical AffairsMinister of StatePMLN
Coordinator to the prime minister Coordinator to the prime minister#NamePortfolioPartyCitation1Babar Nawaz KhanKashmir Affairs & Gilgit BaltistanPMLN2Bilal Farooq TararMedia Coordinator 3Romina Khurshid AlamClimate Change & Environmental Coordination4Rana Ihsaan Afzal KhanGeneral Issues5Ikhtiar Wali KhanInformation for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Affairs
Cabinet division and cabinet secretariat The current Federal Secretary of the Cabinet is Kamran Ali Afzal, since his appointment in August 2023. On 20 March the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority (NSDRA) and Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority were both placed under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division. The Cabinet Secretariat is directly under the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary, controlling the Aviation Division, Cabinet Division, Establishment Division, National Security Division and Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division.
Cabinet committees On 21 March the cabinet division would issue two separate notifications constituting the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE), by the Prime Minister under terms of rule 17(2) of Rules of Business, 1973. Both would be retained directly under Shehbaz Sharif, becoming Chairman of both committees. On the same day Shehbaz would also approve the reconstitution of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP), with MoFA Ishaq Dar as Chairman with the secretarial support of the Committee provided by the Aviation Division; and the reconstitution of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs), with Minister of Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb as Chairman. Additional Committees constituted on 21 March include the Cabinet Committee on Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) under Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Cabinet Committee on Chinese Investment Projects (CCoCIP) under Ahsan Iqbal, and a committee to "speed up" the privatization of Pakistan International Airways (PIA) under Khawaja Asif. With forty-eight hours, on 23 March the Cabinet Division issued a notification, appointing Muhammad Aurangzeb as new Chairman of the ECC, with Shehbaz Sharif withdrawing from the committee Previously Aurangzeb held chairmanship of only the Cabinet Committee on SOEs (CCoSOEs), while Ishaq Dar also held a prominent role in the new cabinet committees as chairman of Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP). This was a departure from past practices, where finance ministers chaired three out of four committees. With Shahbaz Rana writing that the "PM had "clipped" the Finance Minister’s "decision-making wings" by depriving him of the ECC. The decision to place Aurangzeb as chairman also came after criticism from "all quarters." Pakistan newspaper Dawn, quoting a senior member of the cabinet officially stated that the PM had “regretted he would be unable to chair the ECC meetings due to his hectic schedule and engagements.” On 28 March the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) would be constituted, chaired by Khawaja Asif, with Terms of Reference (ToR) that the committee may authorize, recommend approval, and constitute a negotiation committee for a G2G or commercial agreement with a foreign state, as well as approve price-discovery mechanisms, submit recommendations for existing regulatory compliance. Operating under the clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of Section (4) of the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act, 2022. Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the CabinetMinisterReferenced OfficeStatusBy Special Invitation/Co-OptedCitationMuhammad AurangzebFinanceChairman● Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission ● Governor of State Bank of Pakistan
● Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission
● Fourteen (14) Federal SecretariesThese are the: (1) Secretary of the Power Division; (2) Secretary of the Commerce Division; (3) Secretary of the Communications Division; (4) Secretary of the Finance Division; (5) Secretary of the Industries & Production Division; (6) Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division; (7) Secretary of the Petroleum Division; (8) Secretary for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Division; (9) Secretary of the National Food Security & Research Division; (10) Secretary of the Privatization Division; (11) Secretary of the Railways Division; (12) Secretary of the Revenue Division/Chairman of the FBR; (13) Secretary of the Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division; (14) and the Secretary of the Water Resources Division
● Chairman of the Board of InvestmentAhad CheemaEconomic AffairsCommittee MemberJam Kamal KhanCommerceAwais LeghariEnergyMusadik MalikPetroleumAhsan IqbalPlanning