Kakar to appoint new principal secretary

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker prime minister will appoint his new Principal Secretary (PSPM) early next month as the incumbent, Dr Syed Tauqeer Hussain Shah will proceed to the World Bank next month.

Dr Tauqeer Shah has been designated Executive Director of the bank for four years to replace Naveed Kamran Baloch who is completing his tenure the same month. He was granted a one-year extension in service by former prime minister Shahbaz Sharif in December.

Shad wanted to proceed on leave immediately after the completion of Shahbaz’s tenure but he was asked to continue with the caretaker prime minister as long his replacement wasn’t chosen.

The sources pointed out that as soon Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar returns from his maiden foreign trip next week, the new principal secretary would be finalised. Federal Secretary for Housing and Works Dr Shahzad Bangash is among the front runners but Secretary of Economic Affairs Kazim Niaz, Secretary of Culture Ms. Humaira Ahmad and Secretary of Finance Imdad Ullah Bosal are also being considered for the slot.

Well-placed sources told The News here on Tuesday that reshuffling in senior postings in the federal government administration would take place in the wake of the appointment of a new principal secretary to the prime minister after the approval of the Election Commission of Pakistan.