ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: In what appeared to be a belated move to pacify the judiciary, the government on Saturday made changes in the federal cabinet as well as the Islamabad administration, replacing those officials who remained active in the events taking place after the filing of the reference against the chief justice.

According to a notification of the Cabinet Division, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has swapped the portfolios of Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Wasi Zafar and Federal Minister for Privatisation Zahid Hamid.

Though the government has officially not assigned any reason for the change, but it is believed that Mr Zafar has been transferred in an effort to appease the legal community which has been demanding his resignation since the reinstatement of the chief justice on July 20.

When contacted, Mr Zafar claimed that he had himself asked the prime minister to change his portfolio. “The changes have been made with my consent. I met the prime minister five days ago and asked him to give me the portfolio of privatisation,” Mr Zafar claimed when asked whether he had been replaced in connection with his role in the chief justice case.

When asked why he wanted to change the ministry on his own, he said that he could not disclose that as it was his “personal matter.”

Sources told Dawn that the prime minister had also accepted the resignation of federal law secretary Justice (retd) Mansoor Ali Khan. The sources said the law secretary had submitted his resignation a few days back taking the responsibility of the defeat of the government in the chief justice case. No new law secretary has been appointed so far by the government. When contacted by phone, Justice (retd) Mansoor said, “Sorry, I don’t want to talk to the media.”

The government has already replaced Attorney General Makhdoom Ahmed Ali, who resigned soon after the Supreme Court judgment in the CJ case, with Justice (retd) Malik Mohammad Qayyum.The government also made changes in the Islamabad administration, transferring Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed and Chief Commissioner Khalid Pervez, the two officials who are considered responsible for manhandling the chief justice when he was going to the Supreme Court for his first appearance before the Supreme Judicial Council.

IGP Chaudhry Iftikhar has been given a new assignment in the Ministry of Population and his deputy Shahid Nadeem Baloch has been appointed as acting IGP.

Similarly, the services of Chief Commissioner Khalid Pervez have been put at the disposal of the Punjab government. Lt-Col (retd) Hamid Ali Khan, the additional secretary for local government, Punjab, has been made the new chief commissioner.