GUJRAT: The Punjab government on Friday transferred Deputy Commissioner Mehtab Waseem Azhar and replaced him with Dr Khurram Shahzad.

Mr Waseem, a BPS-18 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), has been posted as Rahim Yar Khan DC in place of Nouman Yousaf (BPS-19) who has been transferred and directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department with immediate effect.

Both Dr Khurram and Mehtab Waseem had earlier served as Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin DCs, respectively and they were removed from these posts reportedly on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan who had reportedly received complaints against them by the PTI lawmakers from these districts in September last year.

After removal from Gujrat, Dr Khurram Shahzad (a BPS-19 officer of provincial secretariat service, ex-PSS/PMS) was posted as the director general Environmental Protection Department Punjab from where he was further posted as Rahim Yar Khan DC in 2021. These days he was working as the chief World Trade Organisation under Industries, Commerce, Investment And Skills Development Department.

As per the power-sharing formula agreed upon by the PTI and the PML-Q in Punjab, the recommendations of the latter would prevail in the administrative affairs of Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Chakwal, Bahawalpur districts and Daska tehsil of Sialkot district.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2021