LAHORE - The officer posted as Punjab Chief Secretary after a lengthy procedure was replaced only in 24 hours before he could assume charge.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif reportedly said that he was not informed about the ‘Chief bureaucrat’ whose final selection falls in his jurisdiction, while the officer whose appointment was cancelled said he could not join new assignment due to personal reasons.
The S&GAD, which is supposed to select one among a panel of three officers for the top slot with the approval of the CM and forward the same to the federal government to notify it, had reportedly failed to follow the procedure.
Mr Babur Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, a grade 22 officer and Federal Secretary Cabinet Division, was to take over as new Punjab CS on Wednesday but now Mr Khizar Hayat Gondal, another grade 22 officer has replaced him. He was earlier serving as Federal Secretary for Ports and Shipping.
Former Secretary Services Mohayyddin Ahmad Wani has been made OSD (officer on special duty), which practically means an officer in search of duty.
Sources in the federal government requesting anonymity said that when Mr Babur was notified as the CS, the Punjab CM reportedly took notice of it and called explanation as to why he (Babur) was posted as CS without his consent.
The federal government had to call Babur and intimate him about the new situation, and Mr Babur had to say he would not assume office owing to personal reasons. The Punjab government spokesperson Zaeem Qadri said that due to illness Babur was not posted in Punjab and K H Gondal had to replace him.
However, an officer in Punjab government said that the situation was different and it was not possible that S&GAD did more than what it was in its jurisdiction. He said that there might be some misunderstanding. Responding a query, why the consent of Babur Yaqoob was not sought before notification, the official said, it was federal government’s subject and usually the concurrence of the official concerned is sought before notification. He said that the concurrence of the Secretaries, Commissioners and even the DCO is sought before their posting.
Another senior officer in Punjab, requesting his identity not be disclosed, said that he was worried on the happenings regarding posting of the Chief Secretary. He said that he cannot recall any such precedent in Punjab’s history. However, he said that it was federal government’s prerogative to post the CS in the provinces but with the consent of the CM concerned.
Newly posted CS Gondal is considered to be a seasoned, upright and honest bureaucrat who is from 10th Common of Pakistan Administrative Service. With Masters in Social Policy and Planning, Gondal worked on important positions in Punjab as well as in other parts of country. He served as ACS Punjab, Secretary Local government, Member BOR Judicial and other important posts.
In BS-21, he was appointed as Azad Kashmir Chief Secretary. He was one of the two officers whom AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had repatriated in February 2014 to the Establishment Division because he had repeatedly refused to obey orders of the AJK Premier that he thought were against the rules. But later, the AJK PM had to withdraw his previous orders whereby the services of chief secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal and inspector general of police Malik Khuda Bakhsh Awan were surrendered to the Establishment Division.
Gondal as AJK Chief Secretary had termed the posting of Secretary Services Khawaja Ahsan unlawful saying the appointment had not been made under the rules of business. The appointment file had not been forwarded to his office for approval, an official privy to that time development confirmed.
Latter, as additional chief secretary Punjab, Gondal was one of those officers who were transferred from their positions in wake of general elections – like commissioner of Rawalpindi Imdadullah Bosal, Development and Planning Department chairman Javed Aslam, Investment Board (Punjab) secretary Nadeem Hasan, Finance secretary Tariq Bajwa and others.
Gondal as Local Government secretary had in 2012 waived the penalty imposed on delayed registration of births and deaths in all union councils throughout the province keeping in view the difficulties being faced by the people in this regard. It is said that as Federal Secretary for Ports and Shipping Gondal worked hard to make Gwadar Port functional.
Staff reporter adds from Islamabad: Sources informed this scribe that Babar Fatah had refused to take the responsibility due to personal affairs in meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday. He requested PM that he was not interested in the post of Punjab chief secretary as he was happy with his service as Secretary Cabinet Division.
Talking to The Nation, Khizar Hayat Gondal said he would resume the charge of his new office on Thursday (today). Establishment Division issued the notification of his appointment on Wednesday evening.