ISLAMABAD/LAHORE – The federal government on Wednesday appointed senior bureaucrat Abdullah Khan Sumbal as new chief secretary of Punjab, replacing Kamran Ali Afzal.
Inspector General of Police in Punjab Faisal Shahkar has also relinquished charge while the provincial government has appointed Ghulam Rasool Zahir as acting IG.
The high-profile appointments comes as political crisis is brewing in the province as Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan and Governor Baligur Rehman are at odds over calling a fresh session of the assembly for vote of confidence for Chief Minister Parvez Elahi.
The outgoing chief secretary had long been demanding transfer to some other post but his request was not entertained the PDM government in the Centre. He had later taken leave reportedly in protest in September last when Sumbal was given additional charge of the chief secretary.
Faisal Shahkar has relinquished his charge as Punjab IGP as he is set to leave for New York to take on his new assignment at the United Nations.