PM shakes up bureaucracy

ISLAMABAD: The federal government notified the transfer and posting of 24 civil servants after their promotion to the top grade was approved by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, according to an Establishment Division notification on Tuesday.

It was the first major bureaucratic reshuffle since Abbasi was elected the Prime Minister in August. The newly-posted officers included seven secretaries and heads of autonomous bodies in Basic Scale (BS) 22. They also include Hashim Popalzai, appointed as special secretary in Establishment Division in grade 22.

Chairing the High-Powered Selection Board (HPSB), Prime Minister Abbasi on October 5 had approved the promotions of 35 officers from grade 21 to grade 22. However, the Establishment Division notified the new postings of 24 of them on Tuesday.

The newly-transferred and posted officers in BS 22 include Furqan Bahadur Khan appointed as Interior Secretary. Additional secretary of Cabinet Division Syed Sohail Altaf has been transferred and posted as chairperson of the Pakistan Tobacco Board.

Irfan Ali has been appointed Privatisation Commission Secretary, Maroof Afzal will be the Industries and Production Secretary. Aamir Ashraf Khawja has been made National Security Secretary, while Omar Hamid Khan will now head the Benazir Income Support Programme as its Secretary.



Besides, there are officers who would continue in the same posts after their promotion. They include Sindh Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon and Arif Elahi, Chairperson Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.

Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed, Captain (retd) Muhammad Usman, Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz and Muhammad Ayub Qureshi will continue to remain at the disposal of Punjab government. Sardar Abdul Majeed Khan currently serving in Police Service in Sindh will remain at disposal of the province.

Among other transfers and postings, Muhammad Asghar Chaudhary, a BS 21 officer has been appointed as Akhtar Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development as its director general and Imran Zeb Khan has been appointed as chairperson export processing zone authority.



Capt (retd) Jahanzeb Khan, BS 21 officer, has been appointed as States and Frontier Regions Division Secretary, while Naveed Kamran Baloch has been appointed as Health Secretary in BS 21.