With an aim to ensure transparent holding of the forthcoming general elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued orders to the Sindh chief secretary to transfer those officers appointed by the former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) ministers so that the election process could be made transparent, it is learnt.
The orders were the result of a meeting of Sindh intelligentsia who met with Chief Election Commission (CEC) Fakhruddin Ibrahim the other day and apprised him about the continuity of PPP and MQM supported bureaucracy.
In the backdrop of the series of complaints by the writers and intellectuals, the CEC called up the Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Mohammad Abbas at the ECP office on Thursday morning and discussed various matters with him, including the reshuffling of bureaucracy.
Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today that the chief secretary was instructed to transfer senior bureaucrats who have served their posts for more than one and a half years.
Those placed in the hit list included Nadeem Kamran Balouch, working as principle secretary of sitting caretaker chief minister, who had earlier served as secretary finance during the last five years in previous provincial governments, which clearly showed his close affiliation with coalition partner parties of former provincial government.
The sitting home secretary Asrar Hussain had served as additional secretary development during the last five years, which was tangible evidence of his close association with the previous government.
Meanwhile, Asif Hyder Shah had been appointed as S&GAD secretary, which was a key position in provincial administrative hierarchy. He is the brother-in-law of former provincial minister Murad Ali Shah. Sohail Ahmed Qureshi had been posted as S&GAD additional secretary, and was known to have close association with President Asif Zardari. He was also among those officers who were promoted out of turn by former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah.
Furthermore, Ali Ahmed Lund had been appointed as Local Government secretary and shared strong relations with former PPP MNA Naveed Qamar and former provincial minister Agha Siraj Durrani.
The sitting Karachi Commissioner Hashim Raza Zaidi, who had also been given administrative powers of city administration, remained as secretary health during the last five years of the previous governments rule.
Moreover, Mohammed Ali Baloch, Zaheer Ahmed Tunio and Khuram Waris have been posted as SSPs of Mathiari, Tharparkar and Jamshoro.