Saqib Zafar appointed as additional chief secretary South Punjab

LAHORE: In a move towards making the South Punjab secretariat functional, the Punjab government has appointed Capt (retd) Saqib Zafar as additional chief secretary South Punjab, ARY NEWS reported on Tuesday.

Besides the appointment of the additional chief secretary, who will lead the bureaucracy in South Punjab, the government also gave Asadur Rehman as an additional charge of secretary livestock.

He is currently posted as secretary of agriculture.

It is pertinent to mention here that appointments of secretaries, cabinet meetings, sittings of provincial ministers weekly and other measures were put before Prime Minister Imran Khan as steps planned to make South Punjab secretariat functional on April 09.

The prime minister chaired a meeting on South Punjab attended by MNAs and MPAs from the area, where he was briefed in detail on measures needed to make it functional.

It was informed that efforts were underway to make it fully functional and a committee is being formed to address the issues faced by the region and the secretariat.

Read More: Over 200 bureaucrats refused to work at South Punjab secretariat, report reveals

It was briefed that appointments would be made against the existing vacancies at the South secretariat while cabinet meetings would also be held to make to ensure that it is made functional on an immediate basis.

The provincial ministers would also be directed to ensure a weekly sitting at the secretariat. Prime Minister Imran Khan directed to provide all needed facilities to the secretariat.

Meanwhile, it was decided to take action against the officials who changed the status of the South Punjab secretariat.

A committee was formed to identify the officials involved in the entire episode.