LAHORE: Shortly after a female chief minister took the oath of office as Punjab’s top executive for the first time in the country’s history, the province made history by appointing its first Sikh minister to the provincial cabinet, The News reported on Thursday.
Ramesh Singh Arora, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator, was sworn in as a minister in the cabinet of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The Sikh politician returned to the provincial legislature for a third term, but this time he was assigned a ministry.
Arora, who comes from the Narowal area, has been given the minority responsibility. He was also the first Sikh politician in Punjab, swearing oath as a member of the provincial assembly in 2013.
Meanwhile, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, another religious minority member from Punjab, has joined the provincial government alongside Arora. Sindhu has been handed the human rights portfolio.
Since 1970, several political parties or alliances, including the PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have formed governments. However, the PML-N distinguishes out as the sole party to introduce and include the first Sikh MPA in the government.
The PTI also introduced Mahendra Pal Singh, a Sikh MPA, to the Punjab Assembly, but he was unable to return in 2024 since the party was unable to win its reserved seat quota.
