ISLAMABAD, Sept 7 Senior bureaucrat Kamran Lashari has been appointed as chief secretary of Sindh. A notification to the effect was issued by the Establishment Division on Tuesday.

He will take charge of his office in a couple of days.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Lashari described the appointment as a challenge in view of many important issues in Sindh. “The biggest issue is flooding in Sindh and second is the deteriorating law and order situation and the issue of target killing,” he said.

He said he had served in Sindh for more than 10 years and he would be able to understand the problems faced by the province.

Before this appointment Mr Lashari served as secretary petroleum for over six months and faced a tough time when the issue of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) was taken up by the Supreme Court. Imtiaz Qazi, currently secretary education, will replace Mr Lashari as secretary petroleum.

Mr Lashari who is famous for his green fingers because of his work in the field of landscaping, horticulture and beautification has served in Sindh as assistant commissioner of Umerkot and deputy commissioner of Thatta, Karachi and Sukkur. He served in Punjab as deputy commissioner in many districts and as chairman of Pakistan Horticulture Department.

Former interior minister Faisal Salah Hayat brought Mr Lashari to Islamabad as chairman of Capital Development Authority (CDA) where he worked for five years.