Punjab gets new chief secretary, IGP relinquishes charge amid political imbroglio

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 06 Jan 2023

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Establishment Division has appointed Abdullah Sumbal as the Punjab chief secretary in place of Kamran Ali Afzal. 

Notification to the effect has been issued by the Establishment Division. 

Also, Punjab IGP Faisal Shahkar is learnt to have relinquished the charge and submitted a report to the provincial secretary of services, Punjab. 

A crisis emerged in Punjab a few months ago when Mr Afzal refused to work and demanded that he be transferred to some other post. Later, he applied for leave a couple of times during which Mr Sumbal was given an additional charge. Mr Sumbal has now been given the charge. 

Former chief secretary Afzal had gone on a two-week leave “in protest” on Sept 17 last after his requests for the withdrawal of his services from Punjab were ignored by the PML-N-led federal government. 

There were slight differences between Chief Minister Parvez Elahi and IGP Faisal Shahkar over transfers and postings. After the IGP s decision, the provincial government has yet to assign the charge of the top police officer to any senior police officer. Mr Shahkar is on leave for joining a special assignment at the United Nations. He was not attending the office for the last two weeks.