Former President and Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad has been appointed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s special envoy with the status of a minister in the new Cabinet. HT Imam has been made Hasina’s advisor on political affairs, Gowher Rizvi on foreign affairs, Mashiur Rahman on economic affairs, and Tarek Siddiqui on defence. The four had been advisors to the Prime Minister in the last Cabinet. However, Imam and Mashiur were dropped from the ‘multi-party’ poll-time government last November. This time, Syed Moddasser Ali, who was Hasina’s health affairs advisor, and Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury, energy affairs advisor, have been dropped from the new Cabinet sworn in on Sunday. Jatiya Party (JP) chief Anwar Hossain Manju, an advisor to the Prime Minister during the poll-time Cabinet, has been made a full minister. However, Ershad-led Jatiya Party’s Presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu has been left out in this Cabinet.
