PESHAWAR, July 30: The federal government has asked the NWFP government to let Brig Dr Habibur Rehman complete his tenure as director-general health services, official sources told Dawn .

In a letter sent to the provincial department on July 12 by the cabinet division Islamabad it was stated that Prime Minister  Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had desired to ask the NWFP government to restore services of director-general health till the completion of his three-year term in office.

The letter further said that services of Mr Rehman had been requisitioned by the NWFP government from the GHQ through ministry of defence for a period of three years, specifically for the post of DG health. It said that the DG’s tenure would expire on November 10, 2003 and that he could not be subsequently appointed to another post.

The provincial government on May 24 issued the transfer orders of the DG health from his post and replaced him with Dr Jalilur Rehman, the medical superintendent of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH).

Mr Rehman was appointed as acting chief executive of the LRH. 

As a protest against his transfer, he went on a 10-day casual leave and sent a letter to Chief Minister Akram  Khan Durrani, in which Mr Rehman mentioned that he would not relinquish the post due to the fact that he had directly been appointed by the chief of army staff.

The letter, however, is yet to be returned by the chief minister. Sources at the DG health office said that Mr Rehman had been asked by the GHQ, Rawalpindi not to give up the post of the DG health and continue till November 10, 2003.