Punjab gets first Sikh minister as Ramesh Singh Arora takes oath

After Maryam Nawaz was elected as the first Chief Minister of Punjab, the province made history again by appointing its first sikh minister, Ramesh Singh Arora to its cabinet.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker, Ramesh Singh Arora was sworn in as a minister in the cabinet of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday. The Sikh politician returned to the provincial assembly for a third term, but this time he was assigned the role of Minister for Human Rights and Minorites i Maryam’s cabinet.

Arora, hailing from the Narowal was also the first Sikh politician in Punjab, swearing oath as a member of the provincial assembly in 2013.

READ MORE: 17-member Punjab cabinet sworn in

Meanwhile, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, another religious minority member from Punjab, has joined the provincial government alongside Arora. Khalil Tahir has been handed the human rights ministry.

The PTI also introduced Mahendra Pal Singh, a Sikh MPA, to the Punjab Assembly in 2018, but he was unable to return in 2024 since the party was unable to win its reserved seat quota.

Yesterday, cabinet members of the newly-elected Punjab government took oath in a swearing-in ceremony held at the Governor House in Lahore.

Governor Balighur Rehman administered the oath of the 17-member cabinet.

Marriyum Aurangzeb took the oath as senior minister, while Syed Muhammad Ashiq Hussain Shah, Rana Sikandar Hayat, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, Khawaja Sulman Rafiq, Zeeshan Rafique, Bilal Akbar Khan, Sohaib Ahmed Malik, Azma Zahid Bokhari, Bilal Yasin, Ramesh Singh Arora, Khalil Tahir, Faisal Ayub Khokhar, Shafay Hussain, Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani and Sohail Shoukat Butt were sworn in as ministers.