KP Development Secretariat Appoints Secretaries for 12 Designated Districts
PESHAWAR: The newly established Area Development Secretariat (ADS) has appointed administrative secretaries for 12 designated districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and notified the organisational structure of government departments and their attached formations.
The federal government notified the ADS on October 11 following the imposition of an emergency in the province. The secretariat is headed by Additional Chief Secretary Mohammad Yahya Akhundzada.
According to an official notification, Adnan Khan Behattani, a BPS-19 Pakistan Administrative Service officer, has been appointed secretary for security administration and governance. Abdul Nasir Khan, a BPS-19 Provincial Management Service officer, has been posted as secretary for security, while Dr Qasim Ali Khan, also a BPS-19 PMS officer, will serve as secretary for education and the social sector.
Mohammad Abid Khan Wazir, a BPS-19 PAS officer, has been appointed secretary for economic development, while Arifullah Awan, also a BPS-19 PAS officer, will head finance, planning and development.
The KP Human Resource Management Department placed the officers’ services at the disposal of the ADS on Tuesday for further postings.
In a separate notification, the secretariat outlined the responsibilities of the five secretaries and assigned government departments and their attached formations to their respective jurisdictions. The arrangement has been made under paragraphs 7(i) and 7(vi) of the federal government’s October 11 proclamation.
The secretary for administration and governance will oversee establishment and administration, science and information technology, the Board of Revenue, information, interprovincial coordination, and the benevolent fund.
The education and social sector secretary will supervise elementary and secondary education, higher education, Auqaf, Hajj and religious affairs, zakat and usher, social welfare, health, local government, population welfare, culture, tourism, archaeology and museums.
The finance and planning and development secretary will oversee the finance, planning and development, and relief, rehabilitation and settlement departments.
The economic development secretary will be responsible for communications and works, public health engineering, mines and minerals, housing, industries, labour, transport, agriculture, irrigation, environment, forests, wildlife and climate change, energy and power, food, fisheries and livestock.
The secretary for security will supervise the home and law departments, excise, taxation and narcotics control, and sports and youth affairs.
The 12 designated districts are Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan, and Upper and Lower South Waziristan.
On October 17, the Area Representative and Development Council was established with former governor Shaukatullah Khan as chairman and Malik Khan Marjan as vice-chairman. The 48-member council, representing the designated districts, has been tasked with restoring law and order, protecting citizens, promoting good governance and ensuring sustainable development through local participation.
Earlier, on October 14, the KP police transferred Abbas Ahsan, a BPS-21 Police Service of Pakistan officer, from his position as AIG headquarters at the Central Police Office and appointed him additional inspector general of police for the designated districts in accordance with the federal government’s October 11 order.
