Official confirmation of the appointment was made through a notification issued by the defence ministry on Monday.
The incoming defence secretary replaces Lt Gen (retired) Asif Yasin Malik, who stepped down from his position last week after serving for over two years.
In his last official engagement, Lt General (retd) Asif Yasin Malik gave an Eid Milan party to all the employees and officers of MOD, the statement said. Malik said that his tenure had been made successful by the hard work and effort put in by the staff and officers alike.
“Secretary had a very successful tenure considering the then situation. There has been good and positive change in relations with countries related to defence. This feeling has been prevalent among the staff and officers alike,” the statement added.
Khattak retired from the army last year after serving on several key positions including corps commander Quetta, Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa and chief of logistics at the GHQ.
Defence secretary’s office is the highest bureaucratic position within the Ministry of Defence. In recent years, the office has gained significance in view of the current civil-military relations.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 5th,2014.
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