PML-N Punjab President and former interior minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has been notified as adviser to the prime minister on political and public affairs, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Cabinet Division issued a notification in this regard in Islamabad on Thursday.
Rana Sana’s status will be equal to a federal minister, the notification said.
After Rana Sana’s addition, the number of federal cabinet members has risen to 20. However, the is the first adviser in the federal cabinet.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet now consists of 18 ministers, one state minister and an adviser. The PM had also appointed five coordinators.
It may be mentioned here that Rana Sanaullah was appointed as an adviser on Tuesday last. President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the appointment on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice under Article 93(1) of the Constitution.
The appointment came two days after the PML-N government had appointed Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, a close confidant of Nawaz, as the deputy prime minister, in a move that took many by surprise, but drew hardly any criticism from its allies.
Rana Sanaullah had served as the interior minister in the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government. He had managed the PML-N’s electoral campaign for the February 8 general elections but lost NA-100’s (Faisalabad-VI) contest to PTI-backed Dr Nisar Jutt with 112,403 votes against 131,996.
Reporter Awais Kiyani