ECP appoints new secretary, notifies major reshuffle ahead of Feb 8 polls

ISLAMABAD: With the upcoming February 8 polls less than a month away, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday notified major transfers and postings of senior officers along with the appointment of a new secretary.

As per the notification issued by the top electoral body, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja appointed Syed Asif Hussain as the new ECP secretary after approving Omar Hamid Khan's resignation from the key post and waiving his one-month notice period.

Khan, who performed his duties as the electoral body's secretary from July 2021 to January 2024, is a retired grade 22 officer of the Secretariat Group who had served as the special secretary of finance, secretary of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), and national food security.

Earlier this month, the senior bureaucrat had stepped down from the key post owing to health concerns, with the ECP confirming that the senior officer was on medical rest due to some health issues.

Previously, the top electoral body, in a statement, had acknowledged that Khan had been bad for a few days and that he would perform his duties if his health allowed him such.

"ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan is an intelligent and hardworking officer, who is performing his duties with diligence. He is currently on medical rest due to some health issues. He will return to his duties immediately after his health recovery," the statement from the ECP read.

It is to be noted that the newly appointed secretary, Hussain, who was serving as a special secretary, had earlier undertaken the said additional charge in light of Khan's absence.

Furthermore, the electoral body has also notified multiple transfers and postings of officers in the "public interest".

The ECP has appointed Saeed Gul, who was serving as Punjab's Provincial Election Commissioner, as Director General Elections Cell & Head of Elections Wing at the electoral body's Islamabad secretariat.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Farid Afridi, who was serving as Additional Director General Elections I, has replaced Aijaz Anwer Chohan as the new Provincial Election Commissioner for Balochistan — with Chohan being appointed as Punjab's Election Commissioner.