ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday assigned the foreign ministry portfolio to Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan after Khawaja Asif was ousted from the position last month.

The foreign minister post had been vacated following Khawaja Asif’s disqualification on April 26. Asif was disqualified by the Islamabad High Court under Article 62 (1) (f) of the constitution for failing to disclose his employment in a United Arab Emirate (UAE) company and the salary he was receiving on monthly basis.

Dastgir has been the minister of defence since August 2017 when Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi formed a new cabinet after the ouster of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He had also served as the minister for commerce from 2014 to 2017.