Centre to soon decide on new Punjab CS

LAHORE: The postponement of by-polls across Pakistan has paved the way for the appointment of new chief secretary (CS) of Punjab, reported local media on Monday.

Sources said that the federal government will make a decision soon regarding the appointment of new chief secretary in Punjab. Earlier, the Centre stopped the appointment of the Punjab chief secretary due to by-polls.

The Punjab government had already sent a summary to the Centre for the appointment of the new chief secretary. The provincial government had suggested three names for the position including Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Abdullah Sumbal and Babar Hayat Tarar.

Earlier, Kamran Ali Afzal had excused himself from continuing his duties as the Punjab chief secretary in his letter to the Establishment Division. On September 8, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the scheduled by-elections in 13 constitutions.

The decision was taken by the ECP in a high-level session chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sultan Sikandar Raja regarding the organisation of by-elections. It has been decided that the by-polls scheduled for September 11, September 25 and October 2 will be postponed and the new dates will be announced soon. The ECP said that the by-poll was deferred due to the devastating rains and floods.