Former finance minister Asad Umar returned to the federal cabinet on Tuesday after taking oath as federal minister for planning, development and reform.
President Arif Alvi administered the oath to Asad Umar at here at Awan-e-Sadr.
Previously held by Khusro Bakhtiar, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform will now be led by Asad Umar who left the federal cabinet in April last after he was removed as the finance minister. At the time, he was offered the portfolio of Energy Ministry by Prime Minister Imran Khan but he did not accept it.
Khusro Bukhtiar has now been given charge of Ministry of National Food Security and Research. Earlier, Sahibzada Meboob Sultan was handling the Ministry of National Food Security and Research who has now been made federal minister for SAFRON.
According to sources, the reshuffle in the federal cabinet was made after the Chinese working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor expressed concerns about working of key ministers related to communications, railways, and planning and development.
"The Chinese were reluctant to talk to these ministers for their failure to complete their work on time," they said.
The sources said that the Ministry of Planning was taken back from Khusro Bakhtiyar on the basis of slow performance on CPEC while Prime Minister Imran Khan had wished to bring Asad back to the cabinet and give him the portfolio of planning.
In October, Prime Minister Khan had hinted at making some changes in the federal cabinet when he was told that some ministers were not working to address grievances of the general public.
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