2 Days After He Quit to Represent Pak Army Chief's Extension Case, Minister Re-inducted into Cabinet

Islamabad: Prominent Pakistani lawyer Farogh Naseem on Friday was reinducted as a federal minister, just two days after he resigned from the position of law minister to represent the government in a case on the extension of Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in the Supreme Court.

Naseem was administered the oath of federal minister by President Arif Alvi.

However, there were contradictory reports on the allocation of his portfolio.

While the Dawn News reported that it has not yet been announced which portfolio Naseem would be given, the Express Tribune and Geo News said that he was sworn in again as the law minister.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had extended Bajwa's tenure through a notification on August 19, but the apex court suspended it on Tuesday, citing irregularities in the manner the army chief, a close confidant of the premier, was granted an extension.

The same day Naseem resigned from his position as law minister to represent the government in the high-profile case.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had said that Naseem resigned "voluntarily" as he could not argue the case as the law minister. He also said that Naseem would return to Cabinet once the case ended.

On Thursday, Bajwa got a six-month conditional extension from the Supreme Court, ending an unprecedented legal wrangle that shook the Khan-led government and pitted the powerful military against the judiciary.

Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed a three-member bench, announced the landmark verdict after getting an assurance from the government that Parliament will pass a legislation on the extension/reappointment of an Army chief within six months.