ISLAMABAD, Dec 12: The newly-appointed chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), Danyal Aziz, assumed charge of his office on Thursday.

Mr Aziz has also been given the status of minister for state. He has already worked as member NRB.

The bureau’s spokesman, Maj Bilal, said the appointment of Danyal Aziz as the NRB chairman was the best choice for the government as he (Mr Aziz) remained involved in all matters of the bureau with the former chairman Lt-Gen Tanwir Naqvi (retired).

The spokesman was hopeful that the appointment of Mr Aziz as a state minister would enhance the efficiency of the federal cabinet.

After assuming charge of his office, Mr Aziz presided over a meeting of the NRB’s officials and discussed new assignments given to the bureau by the newly-elected government, the bureau’s spokesman said.

The NRB chief said the bureau would provide support to the federal and provincial governments for better implementation of the local government system, Maj Bilal added.

He told the meeting that the NRB would interact with government organizations for institutionalizing capacity-building of local governments at all levels.

The spokesman quoted Mr Aziz as saying that the bureau had been assigned the task of processing amendments in the local government laws proposed by the federal and provincial governments (under Article 268 read with the sixth schedule of Constitution of Pakistan 1973) for the approval of the president of Pakistan.

The NRB chief said the bureau would initiate proposals for reconstruction of civil services at federal, provincial and local levels and assist the governments concerned in implementation of the proposals.

He said the bureau would establish liaison with national and international think-tanks on issues relevant to good governance.