KARACHI, April 12: The Sindh government on Friday transferred more than a dozen senior officers and posted them to different institutions just a month before the general elections in a move that the caretaker authorities called was in line with Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and court orders.

According to a statement, Mohammad Waseem was posted as additional chief secretary home department, Waseem Ursani secretary excise and taxation, Malik Israr senior member Board of Revenue and Lala Fazlur Rehman as secretary forests.

Shazar Shamoon has been given the charge of chairman anti-corruption, Seema Najib has been made women development secretary, Farooq Laghari energy department secretary, Atta Panhwar livestock and fisheries secretary, Pervez Junejo Katchi Abadis secretary, Shakeeluz Zaman local government secretary, Mohammad Rashid Sindh civil services academy director-general, Ghulam Hussain Memon Larkana commissioner, Misbah Tunio Sukkur commissioner, Riaz Memon Hyderabad commissioner and Akhtar Ghouri has been posted as secretary to the governor.

“The exercise is line with the Election Commission and court orders and we are committed to follow them,” said Noor-ul-Huda Shah, the information minister in the caretaker cabinet of Sindh.

However, she added, there were few technical issues that were needed to be addressed before making transfers as sudden transfer of officers from certain institutions affected their operations negatively.

The reshuffle also continued at the Sindh police, which transferred more than 25 senior superintendents of police (SSPs) and superintendent of police (SPs) on Wednesday, as new orders assigned over half a dozen officers new areas of service.

“ASP Ferozabad Lieutenant (r) Gulam Murtaza Tabasum has been transferred as [official] in charge 15, ASP Site Rana Shoaib Mahmood as Ferozabad SDPO, DSP Gulam Nabi Wahigo as Qaidabad SDPO, DSP Ejazuddin as SITE SDPO and DSP Iftikhar Ahmed Lohdi has been asked to report to the CPO,” said a central police office (CPO) statement.

The information minister said the transfers and posting at the Sindh police was primarily the job of its high-ups, but the input of caretaker government was always there.

“They [police authorities] know better the utility and effectiveness of their services. Our input is always there and all transfers and postings at the Sindh police enjoy the government endorsement,” she added.

“The exercise may continue,” she said while referring to the changes in the bureaucracy. However, the caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, retired Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi, while speaking to journalists after a meeting with leaders of different political parties in Hyderabad said the transfers had been made across the board and ruled out the possibility of further transfers.

“No. The transfers have ended now,” he stated.

The transfers had not been seen as transparent by the 10-party anti-PPP alliance even though the authorities had termed it in pursuance of the Supreme Court order.

He said the focus should be on taking steps to ensure that elections were in held in a manner where every voter cast their vote regardless of the fact that the caretaker chief minister was considered impartial or not.