PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday relieved provincial finance secretary Ali Reza Bhutta of his responsibilities.

According to a notification issued by the establishment department, Mr Bhutta has been directed to report to the department. It says Shakeel Qadir Khan, home and tribal affairs secretary, has been appointed as the finance secretary.

According to sources, Mr Bhutta earned the ire of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak after he had reportedly refused to borrow money for his discretionary grants during a meeting earlier this month.

The Jamaat-i-Islami, which holds the finance portfolio in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government, had reportedly reasoned against Mr Bhutta’s removal and tried to convince Mr Khattak to retain his services till the annou­n­cement of provincial bud­get. But the party apparent­ly failed to convince the chief minister to change his mind.

Transport secretary Zubair Asghar Qureshi, who was tasked to make a plan for the Peshawar metro bus project, has also been shown the door and directed to report to the establishment department. The secretary for science and technology, Dawood Khan, has been appointed transport secretary.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2017