LAHORE: The Punjab government has appointed Capt (retired) Saqib Zafar as Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab against a vacant post in move to make the South Punjab Secretariat functional.
He is currently serving as Secretary Livestock & Dairy Development Department and will now be heading the new administrative set up in Multan and Bahawalpur which is not functional yet.
Following the annulment of recent notifications, the government is still in the process of making new rules of business for South Punjab Secretariat. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has assigned this task to a ministerial committee to make recommendations in this regard.
In a related development, the third meeting of the ministerial committee on South Punjab was held on Tuesday chaired by Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht.
The provincial minister said that separate quota will be allotted for the people of South Punjab in government jobs. The quota will be determined on the basis of the proportion of population in the province and necessary amendments are being made in the laws.
He said that a separate development programme for South Punjab will be formulated in the budget for the next financial year. The Punjab government will ensure separate publication of the Annual Development Programme of South Punjab.
The minister directed the Law and Finance Department and Planning and Development Board to make amendments in the law relating to separate quotas for South Punjab and preparation of separate Annual Development Programme for South Punjab.
The provincial minister said that the Punjab government was introducing South Punjab as a separate administrative zone for uniform development in the province. For the first time in history, the colour fencing of the budget reserved for South Punjab has been ensured with the support of the cabinet. The establishment of a separate secretariat is continuation of it.
He informed the meeting that all the departments related to education, health and agriculture were being represented in the South Punjab Secretariat.
The Punjab government will provide full technical assistance to all the relocated departments in South Punjab to improve the stability and efficiency of the empowered Secretariat.
