ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: Former Punjab finance minister Tariq Hameed has been tipped as the new chairman of the Water and Power Authority (Wapda), to fill the post having fallen vacant after the retirement of Lt-Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan, an official source confided to Dawn here on Monday.

Though the notification of Mr Hameed’s appointment was not issued till late Monday night, informed sources believed that this would perhaps happen in a day or two.

Federal water and power minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters here on Monday morning that decision to appoint Wapda chairman would be made in a couple of days. However, he had avoided naming the man selected for the job.

Recently, the government had asked federal water and power secretary Saeedullah Jan to perform additional duties of Wapda chairman and chief executive of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) in place of Lt-Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan who had vacated his post on Nov 12 as Wapda chairman.

Earlier, the names of three candidates were being considered for this high profile post, including that of Tariq Hameed, Lt-Gen Mohammad Zubair and Maj-Gen Furrukh Javed.