ISLAMABAD - The reshuffle process in the federal bureaucracy has been kicked off as the Establishment Division has issued transfer and posting orders of seven senior officers including removal of former secretary to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
A day after Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister, the Establishment Division in a notification removed BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Services Tahir Khursheed from the post of Additional Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
Khursheed, who remained principal secretary to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and was considered amongst the blue eyed officers of the previous government, is directed to report to the Establishment Division.
It is pertinent to mention here that Tahir Khursheed was also holding the additional charge of the Federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research. He is a close family member of Ahsan Saleem Baryar, who defeated Tariq Subhani of the ruling PML-N in by-election of Punjab Assembly in Sialkot.
Director Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency, Baber Bakhat Qureshi, a BS-20 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan, has also been removed from his position and directed to report to the Establishment Division.
On the other side, another BS-20 officer of Police Service of Pakistan Humayun Bashir Tarar, who was serving in KP government, is brought back and placed on the disposal of the Ministry of Interior for his further placement in the FIA.
Meanwhile, two BS-19 officers of Pakistan Administrative Services Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Randhawa and Sumair Ahmed Syed were placed at the disposal of Prime Minister Office in addition to another BS-18 officer Waseem Ahmed.
Randhawa remained Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi and Home Secretary in Gilgit Baltistan but presently he was serving at Punjab as Director General Excise while Sumair Ahmed Syed was posted in Gilgt Baltistan as Secretary Forest and he had served as Secretary Tourism there as well prior to his last assignment.
Sources inside the Establishment Division informed that the newly elected prime minister will first organize his own team in the PM Office after which the federal secretaries and heads of the autonomous bodies would be replaced.