Imran Khan government

The Imran Khan government was the government of Pakistan which was formed by Imran Khan following his successful election as Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly. The cabinet had 25 federal ministers, 4 ministers of state and 4 advisors, most of whom assumed office on 20 August 2018.

During the Imran Khan government there were several reforms implemented, these included strict measures taken against corruption, increased economic growth and stability, as well as the improvement of infrastructure and most prominently, the development of key social programs focusing on education, the environment, security and healthcare, including the Sehat Sahulat Program, advocating for the well-being of Pakistanis. Several reports suggested that the Imran Khan government’s widespread reforms had stabilized Pakistan’s economy greatly.

The government was dissolved on 3rd April 2022 following the dissolution of the National Assembly of Pakistan by the President, Arif Alvi at the behest of the Prime Minister, Imran Khan. On 7 April 2022, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the restoration of the Federal Cabinet.

The government also began the process of shifting Pakistan to a Welfare state, although this process was interrupted abruptly when the government was dissolved again on 10 April 2022 following the defeat of Imran Khan in the Vote of No-confidence. He was the first ever Prime Minister of Pakistan to be ousted from office using through a vote of no-confidence.

Cabinet
Khan announced his cabinet soon after taking the oath, he kept the ministry of interior to himself. His choice for ministries was criticized as he came into power on the slogan of Change and Naya Pakistan but most of his appointees were previously ministers during the era of Perveza Musharraf and some served in PPP government which followed Musharraf era.

He was criticized by supporters and critics for settling for "Diet Reform" as Musharraf pursued rather than the real change that was embodied by the PTI. Some supporters defended Khan since the PTI was in a coalition government and needed "electables" to win the election.

To counter that, Imran Khan hold meeting with the federal cabinet twice a week and monitor the ministers’ performances regularly. Khan's government is known to have most number of meetings in history.

Prime Minister Imran Khan convened 46 meetings of the Federal Cabinet compared to his first year in office when he chaired 52 meetings of the Federal Cabinet. Rule 20 of Government of Pakistan Rules of Business calls for a weekly cabinet meeting which translates into about 52 meetings per year.

As a result, Khusro Bakhtiar was shuffled 5 times although he had served as a minister during Musharraf's regime and PML-N coalition government

Shafqat Mehmood was assigned two portfolios and he was commended for his performance during COVID. He had also served as a minister during 1990s and Musharraf regime.

Farogh Naseem has been part of Musharraf's legal team representing him against treason charges which aroused speculation on PTI's stance on if Pervez Musharraf will be tried for treason. Tariq Bashir Cheema has been minister in a past PPP government.

Fehmida Mirza has been Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan in a PPP government.

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad was assigned the railways and interior ministry on the basis of his experience as a minister during the Musharraf and PML-N era.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan also served as a minister during Musharraf regime. Zubaida Jalal Khan was a minister and held the same portfolio during Musharraf era.

Fawad Chaudhry was media coordinator in the political party formed by Musharraf as well a special Assistant to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi held the same portfolio in a PPP government. Babar Awan also served in a past PPP government.

Malik Amin Aslam held same portfolio under Musharraf government but is more of a technocrat than a politician. Abdul Razak Dawood was commerce minister for Musharraf as well.

Omar Ayub Khan was the minister of state for finance in Shaukat Aziz's cabinet during the Pervez Musharraf regime. Ali Muhammad Mahar was the former Chief Minister of Sindh during the Musharraf regime. Firdous Ashiq Awan, also served as Federal Minister of Information in PPP government.

Reshuffles
Imran Khan reshuffled his cabinet for around six time during his ministry. One of the cabinet reshuffle was on the directions of a court that barred un-elected advisers and special assistants from heading the Cabinet committees.

On 18 April 2019, the cabinet saw a reshuffle after Asad Umar stepped down as the finance minister.

On 6 April 2020, the cabinet saw another reshuffle. In late April 2020, PTI Senator Shibli Faraz was appointed as the information minister. Meanwhile, retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa was appointed as special assistant to the prime minister for information replacing Firdous Ashiq Awan.

In December 2020, the federal cabinet saw the fourth reshuffle days after the Islamabad High Court ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government’s committees.

In April 2021, Shaukat Tarin was appointed as finance minister, the fourth person to hold the post in the last two years, as Prime Minister Imran Khan made his sixth cabinet reshuffle since assuming power.

Anti-Corruption Reforms
The Imran Khan government’s cabinet minister Shafqat Mahmood made a committee to counsel on forthcoming community consumption of "heritage buildings" which include governor houses around the country among others. The government’s finance minister Asad Umar said that Khan had ordered him to bring back the laundered money from oversees. He said that government will sell bonds to expatriate Pakistanis. As part of anti-corruption measures, his cabinet decided to put Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on exit control list so they cannot leave the country. The cabinet also issued a directive to bring back Ishaq Dar and sons of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - Hussain and Hassan - to face justice in pending cases against them. The government also decided to implement the austerity measures announced in Khan's inaugural speech. It was also decided to auction the bulletproof and extravagant vehicles belonging to the prime minister house. The decision was made to avoid unnecessary international tours by government officials including the prime minister. On 21 August 2018, the announcement made by the cabinet regarding putting Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on exit control list was acted upon.

Economic Reforms
The government entered power in a twin balance of payments and debt crisis with a large current account deficit and fiscal deficit in 2018, Khan's government sought a bailout from the IMF. In exchange for the bailout, Khan's government slashed subsidy spending in the energy sector and unveiled an austerity budget to curb the fiscal deficit and limit government borrowing. The IMF also demanded that the Pakistani government depreciate the rupee and improve tax collection. Khan's government decided to raise import tariffs to collect higher tax revenues and devalued the currency, this alongside the heavy import duty helped to curtail the current account deficit (import substitution).

Pakistan's overall balance of payment's position improved significantly following record-high remittances in 2020, which stabilised the central bank's foreign exchange reserves. The fiscal deficit narrowed to less than 1% of GDP by 2020 due to the government's austerity policies, and the rate of debt accumulation had significantly slowed. At the same time, Pakistan's debt remained high due to the high borrowing of previous governments in which the current government had to allocate $24 billion to pay off loans taken during the tenure of previous governments.

Environmental Reforms
On 24 August 2018, the government decided to commence a major tree plantation project. A task force was created to launch a cleanliness drive in the country. Climate change adviser Malik Amin Aslam informed about the first phase launch of 10-billion tree tsunami drive, and announced that 1.5 million saplings will be planted on 2 September 2018 for which 190 plant collection stations will be set up around the country from where the public will be able to collect saplings for plantation.

Social Reforms
In social policy, Khan's government has taken steps to restore religious sites belonging to religious minorities; this included the Kartarpur Corridor. Khan's government took a significantly different position on the policy of minorities than the main opposition party, the PML-N, who had opposed the building of the corridor for Indian pilgrims. Khan's government also instituted reforms to education and healthcare on a national and regional level, respectively.

Khan's government introduced reforms to Pakistan's social safety net and the system of welfare in Pakistan more broadly. This included broadening welfare payments which was initially for widows only, to include the disabled as well as provide health insurance coverage.

Foreign Policy
Shah Mehmood Qureshi was sworn in as the Foreign Minister, along with the rest of Khan's government cabinet, on 20 August. Qureshi held his first press conference as foreign minister, during which he said the new government's foreign policy would put "Pakistan first" and "begin and end at Pakistan", emphasizing a focus on national interests. He said all policies would be made at the Foreign Office, and expressed willingness to consult previous foreign ministers, retired diplomats as well as important institutions whilst devising the foreign policy. He briefly touched upon Pakistan's relations with its neighbourhood, the United States and China, and outlined the government's visions and road map in the months to come.