- PM House endorses angry minister’s decision
Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday surrendered the services of Federal Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan to the Establishment Division and ordered Additional Secretary Tariq Mahmood Khan to take over the charge as the federal secretary.
Ministry of Interior spokesman issued a short statement, stating that the services of the secretary had been surrendered with the Establishment Division. “The services of former interior secretary Arif Ahmed Khan have been surrendered with the Establishment Division after his leave ends,” the statement said.
“Additional Interior Secretary Tariq Mahmood Khan has been handed over the current charge of the (interior) secretary. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accorded formal approval,” the statement said. Arif Khan is the second successive interior secretary who has been surrendered by Nisar since 2013.
Previously, Shahid Khan was surrendered by the minister. Both Arif Khan and Shahid Khan have been very close to Sharif family but both had to go after catching ire of the minister. The officers of the ministry remained tight-lipped over the controversy involving the minister and the secretary.
However, an informed source told Pakistan Today that Arif Khan, who was not in the good books of the minister for a while, was unhappy with the aggressive posture of the minister. The official said the minister was not only harsh on his subordinates, he keeps waiting for the time he could snub the official who lost his favours.
The source said the matter took a new turn on March 31, when during a meeting, the minister took notice of the issuance of on arrival visas to Malaysian army personnel under the landing permission basis. When the minister was informed that the interior secretary had approved the visas on arrival for the Malaysian army personnel, the minister got infuriated and asked the secretary why his approval was not sought over the matter.
“The minister was furious that the country already had suffered due to issuance of visas to CIA special agents. He argued why the visas on arrival were issued to the foreigners,” it said. The official said the secretary took the questioning as humiliation and moved a summary to the prime minister through proper channel (interior minister) on March 31, seeking one-month leave for personal reasons.
“The secretary wrote that he had to sort out some personal issues in his hometown Karachi and would be away for a while. He also requested the prime minister that a suitable replacement may kindly be arranged while he would be on leave,” the official added. The source said that the already unhappy minister took the matter seriously and directed additional secretary Tariq Mahmood Khan to take-over the charge of the interior secretary while the secretary was on leave.
The minister also told Tariq if he performed well, he would be appointed secretary, the source added. The minister later took the prime minister into confidence over the development and later surrendered the services of the secretary to the Establishment Division. Later, the Prime Minister’s House also endorsed the decision of the minister.
On Monday, the minister chaired an important meeting and ordered immediate suspension of visas on arrival under the guise of landing permits. He said that this laxity cannot be allowed in this manner as it can give rise to serious irregularities. The minister is known for holding no holds barred when it comes to his opponents.
Last year, the minister had also gone public with revelations about a secret deal being struck between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari. Speaking at a press conference on August 12, 2016, Nisar had revealed that former president had linked his party’s cooperation over the Panama case with leniency by the federal government in cases related to his comrades Dr Asim Hussain, Ayan Ali and Sharjeel Memon.
This presser did not go well with the Prime Minister’s House.
