Saifullah Sani
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved three vital appointments and changes in the cabinet and key federal departments.
Zubair Umar, a brother of prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar, who was working as Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI), has been made chief of the Privatisation Commission (PC), but his appointment is yet to be officially notified, a senior official told The News.
The second selection is that of the National Highway Authority (NHA) chief Maroof Afzal as the Chairman of the financially unstable Capital Development Authority (CDA) Islamabad.
The third change is the withdrawal of the portfolio of the PC from Minister of State (MoS) Khurram Dastgir. He was simultaneously wearing three caps of the PC, Commerce and Textile Industry ministries. The commerce and textile industries portfolios have no full-fledged ministers, meaning that Dastgir is running them single-handed.
The official said that Dastgir has been directed to focus on the two ministries especially after the award of the GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the European Union (EU).
The prime minister wants the MoS to work hard for maximum gains for Pakistan out of the positive development by increasing textile exports to the 27 member countries of the EU, the official said.
“We don’t need MoS when a full-time chairman of the PC has been appointed and the finance minister is also the minister for privatisation,” the official said when asked about the reasons behind Dastgir’s removal. “There is no other issue involved in withdrawing the portfolio of privatisation from Dastgir.”
Amid speculation that the MoS quit due to differences over the constitution of the Privatisation Board, Dastgir told Geo Television that he has resigned as the PC chief. Following the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the EU, he said, he wants to concentrate on the commerce ministry. He discounted reports of differences with his party and called Finance Minister Ishaq Dar a “teacher he could learn from.”
A spokesman of the finance minister and PC said in a statement that the prime minister has taken back the portfolio of privatisation from Dastagir, and as such he can’t continue as the PC chief.
A report said that Dastgir sent a summary to the prime minister over three weeks back, recommending the composition of the privatisation board, which has not been approved as the government wanted some other people to be inducted in it.
Zubair Umar, a political appointee, was made BoI chairman five months back in July this year. Prior to his appointment, he used to assist the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on economic issues and is a party card-holder. Before joining the PML-N, he served IBM for 25 years in senior positions.
He will now have a significant role in the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) and faces the uphill task of fetching a good price, using his connections in the international corporate world, for the state-owned entities that are to be sold as part of the government policy.
Maroof Afzal, a senior bureaucrat hailing from Mirpur (Azad Kashmir), was nominated as the NHA chairman just four months back in August this year. He is generally viewed as an efficient officer, who worked in Punjab for quite some time in the Shahbaz Sharif government.
Although he prefers a low profile, his new assignment requires him to act differently from this kind of role as he will remain under the public gaze. He faces a tough challenge to steer the civic body out of the dire financial straits in which it is after the departure of Kamran Lashari.
Nawaz goes for a mini reshuffle of his key people - thenews.com.pk
Mubashir laqman claimed on ARY News that he is a munshi in Nawaz Shahrief's Factory and Mian mansha has interest in privatization that why he is appointed.
Zubair Umar, a brother of prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar, who was working as Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI), has been made chief of the Privatisation Commission (PC), but his appointment is yet to be officially notified, a senior official told The News.
The second selection is that of the National Highway Authority (NHA) chief Maroof Afzal as the Chairman of the financially unstable Capital Development Authority (CDA) Islamabad.
The third change is the withdrawal of the portfolio of the PC from Minister of State (MoS) Khurram Dastgir. He was simultaneously wearing three caps of the PC, Commerce and Textile Industry ministries. The commerce and textile industries portfolios have no full-fledged ministers, meaning that Dastgir is running them single-handed.
The official said that Dastgir has been directed to focus on the two ministries especially after the award of the GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the European Union (EU).
The prime minister wants the MoS to work hard for maximum gains for Pakistan out of the positive development by increasing textile exports to the 27 member countries of the EU, the official said.
“We don’t need MoS when a full-time chairman of the PC has been appointed and the finance minister is also the minister for privatisation,” the official said when asked about the reasons behind Dastgir’s removal. “There is no other issue involved in withdrawing the portfolio of privatisation from Dastgir.”
Amid speculation that the MoS quit due to differences over the constitution of the Privatisation Board, Dastgir told Geo Television that he has resigned as the PC chief. Following the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the EU, he said, he wants to concentrate on the commerce ministry. He discounted reports of differences with his party and called Finance Minister Ishaq Dar a “teacher he could learn from.”
A spokesman of the finance minister and PC said in a statement that the prime minister has taken back the portfolio of privatisation from Dastagir, and as such he can’t continue as the PC chief.
A report said that Dastgir sent a summary to the prime minister over three weeks back, recommending the composition of the privatisation board, which has not been approved as the government wanted some other people to be inducted in it.
Zubair Umar, a political appointee, was made BoI chairman five months back in July this year. Prior to his appointment, he used to assist the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on economic issues and is a party card-holder. Before joining the PML-N, he served IBM for 25 years in senior positions.
He will now have a significant role in the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) and faces the uphill task of fetching a good price, using his connections in the international corporate world, for the state-owned entities that are to be sold as part of the government policy.
Maroof Afzal, a senior bureaucrat hailing from Mirpur (Azad Kashmir), was nominated as the NHA chairman just four months back in August this year. He is generally viewed as an efficient officer, who worked in Punjab for quite some time in the Shahbaz Sharif government.
Although he prefers a low profile, his new assignment requires him to act differently from this kind of role as he will remain under the public gaze. He faces a tough challenge to steer the civic body out of the dire financial straits in which it is after the departure of Kamran Lashari.
Nawaz goes for a mini reshuffle of his key people - thenews.com.pk
Mubashir laqman claimed on ARY News that he is a munshi in Nawaz Shahrief's Factory and Mian mansha has interest in privatization that why he is appointed.
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