Who gets which portfolio in PM Tarique’s advisory team?

The advisors, appointed outside the cabinet on Feb 17, have been assigned ministries and responsibilities with immediate effect

Portfolios have been distributed among the 10 advisors holding the ranks of ministers and state ministers in the Tarique Rahman-led BNP government.

The Cabinet Division on Tuesday said that the order comes into effect immediately.

Ismail Zabiullah, a member of the BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council, has been given charge of the Ministry of Public Administration, and Dhaka University professor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir has taken over the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Among the advisers with ministerial rank, Mirza Abbas Uddin Ahmed, Nazrul Islam Khan and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed have been appointed political advisors.

Among those with the status of state minister, BNP Joint Secretary General Humayun Kabir has been assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

Retired brigadier general Shamsul Islam, who served as Tarique’s chief security officer, has been tasked with the Ministry of Defence.

Zahed Ur Rahman, joint secretary of Nagorik Oikko and a television commentator, has been handed responsibility for Policy and Strategy.

Mahdi Amin, spokesperson for the BNP’s election steering committee, has been put in charge of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Rehan Asif Asad, head of the BNP Research and Monitoring Cell, has been assigned the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology.

These 10 individuals were appointed as advisors outside the cabinet on Feb 17.

The BNP formed the government that same day following its landslide victory in the parliamentary elections.