ISLAMABAD: Lieutenant General Zamir ul Hassan Shah has been appointed as a defence secretary by the Government after initially opposing his nomination by the military.
Although there was no official notification issued till filing of this report, informed sources said that the Prime Minister has approved his appointment and an official notification will soon be issued.
He has been appointed after the retirement of Lt. Gen Alam Khattak last week.
Alam Khattak had previously served on key positions in the military including corps commander Quetta, Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and chief of logistics at the GHQ.
The military had recommended Gen Shah’s name to the government for appointment as the defence secretary much sooner than Gen Khattak finished his tenure. The government dismisses the nomination and asked that the military name some other officer.
“The government had some reservations about Gen Shah’s nomination,” a source in the Prime Minister Office disclosed.
information disclosed by the insiders said that army refused to change the nomination and insisted for the appointment of Gen Shah.
The government considered to continue with acting secretary, Major Gen Abid Nazir, til the succession in military in November and then appoint a civilian bureaucrat.
However, the advisers of the Prime minister advised him not to strain relationship with the military and accept General Shah’s nomination
A day before the defence secretary’s appointment, the government appointed another retired general (Muzamil Hussain) as head of the Water and Power Development Authority.
The office of the defence secretary is the most elevated bureaucratic office in the defence ministry however has a decreased part with the real powers resting with the GHQ.