ISLAMABAD: A retired bureaucrat is in the saddle following the departure of his predecessor as the secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Sources told Dawn that Umer Hameed, a retired grade 22 officer of Secretariat Group, has assumed his responsibilities as the ECP secretary on contractual basis.

They said Mr Hameed was part of the ECP’s team which attended a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs to discuss two bills seeking sweeping changes to the laws that dealt with electoral processes.

Mr Hameed had earlier served as the special secretary finance, secretary Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and national food security among other important positions.

During the tenure of former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, he also served as the spokesman for the ministry.

Zafar Iqbal, a retired officer of grade 21, has been appointed as the special secretary ECP on one year’s contract. He has held the position in the past as well.

He briefly served as the ECP secretary after Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad completed his term in office. Later, with the appointment of Dr Akhtar Nazir as the secretary in May last year, he was appointed as the special secretary.

The ECP issued notifications of the new postings following the approval of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja.

On his verbal request, the services of Dr Nazir have been placed at the disposal of the Establishment Division. The sources said Dr Nazir was seeking to be relieved of the post for about three months due to health problems.

They said after Dr Nazir’s insistence to quit, a committee headed by the chief election commissioner and comprising two ECP members was formed to pick up his replacement.

The Establishment Division had recommended the names of sitting secretary parliamentary affairs Shakeel Malik and additional secretary interior Ayub Chaudhry, but none of them was found by the committee fit for the job.

A member of the Federal Land Commission, Ahmad Hameed Orakzai, was also among the aspirants, but he too could not satisfy the committee. Finally, Mr Hameed was picked as the secretary.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2021