PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has asked the federal government to appoint Shahab Ali Shah – a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) – as the province’s new chief secretary.

Mr Shah, who had previously served as the additional chief secretary planning and development department under the Mahmood Khan government, is currently posted to Balochistan.

In a letter addressed to the establishment division, principal secretary to chief minister, Amjad Ali Khan said Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had desired that the services of incumbent chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry might be withdrawn from KP at the earliest.

Besides, the letter said Shahab Ali Shah, whose services were currently at the disposal of the Balochistan government, be posted as KP chief secretary in the ‘best interest’ of the province.

For the appointment of the chief secretary, the chief minister usually shares a panel of three officers with the establishment division and the prime minister appoints one of them as the chief secretary of the province.

Mr Shah served for a long time in the KP government in several capacities, including Peshawar division commissioner, secretary planning and development, principal secretary to the chief minister and additional chief secretary before being posted out to Balochistan.

The KP government spokesman Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif did not respond to questions regarding the provincial government’s request on appointment of chief secretary.

Incumbent chief secretary Nadeem Asalm Chaudhry was posted to the province under the caretaker government.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2024