Azam Suleman appointed as interior secretary

Major (retd) Azam Suleman was Friday appointed as interior secretary within 24 hours of his transfer from the slot of Punjab chief secretary, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The move came as it was reported earlier that the federal government had decided to give him an important assignment at the Centre.

Meanwhile, the Establishment Division has also notified the appointment of Yousaf Naseem Khokhar as commerce secretary.

Earlier, the federal government has decided to replace Punjab’s top bureaucrat after Chief Minister Usman Buzdar complained that he neither followed nor gave importance to his directives.

According to 24NewsHD, Buzdar shared his grievances with Prime Minister Imran Khan at a meeting in Islamabad, as the differences between the chief secretary and him were going on for quite some time.

Therefore, the prime minister approved the transfer on Thursday after which the necessary orders were issued in haste.

See Also: Punjab chief secretary transferred for disobeying Buzdar

It is said the chief minister’s orders were mostly about the administrative matters which had been ignored. Thus, he had been trying to get him transferred for some time.

According to sources, Azam Suleman – who is a very influential bureaucrat – is unhappy with the government over the way he was removed from the post.

Earlier on Thursday, the Establishment Division issued a notification which said Communications Division Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik had been transferred and posted as the head of Punjab bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, Azam Suleman was directed to report to the Establishment Division for further orders.

Jawad had earlier served in Punjab as secretary of C&W and local governments departments as well as Lahore commissioner.

Meanwhile, the move to transfer Azam Suleman was challenged in the Punjab High Court with an argument that the prime minister could not interfere in the provincial matters and use his powers while keeping in mind the restrictions imposed by the Constitution.

Claiming that the notification was issued without consulting the chief minister, the petition also said that the new top bureaucrat will set new policies which were going to affect different matters negatively, including the fight against coronavirus.