Pakistan Balochistan election head named

ISLAMABAD:

Short of senior cadre officers, the top polls supervisory body has notified appointments at three vacant posts of the provincial election commissioners (PECs), filling two of these key positions temporarily through junior officers.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday gave Sharifullah the temporary charge as the PEC Punjab while Pir Maqbool Ahmed was given temporary charge as the PEC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

The PEC is a grade-21 post. However, as the ECP is struggling to fill these key posts since retirement of three PECs earlier this month it has given temporary charge to the above two grade-20 officers for a period of three months. Sharifullah and Ahmed have already been serving as joint provincial election commissioners respectively in Punjab and the K-P.

The polls supervisory body also has appointed Naeem Majeed Jafar – currently working at its central secretariat as director general (DG) elections – as the new PEC for Balochistan. After his appointment, the important slot of DG elections has fallen vacant.

Jafar’s deputy, the Additional Director General-Elections Muhammad Yousaf Khattak, is on the National Management Course meant for promotion to grade-21. It is also likely that Khattak will be appointed as the PEC K-P once he gets qualified for promotion to grade-21, sources said.

Source: The Express Tribune