Federal govt approves Gandapur’s pick for KP chief secretary

PESHAWAR: The federal government on Thursday appointed Shahab Ali Shah as the new chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Shahab Ali Shah, an experienced grade-21 Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) officer, replaced Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, who has been posted as the secretary of the Board of Investment.

According to notifications issued by the Establishment Division on Thursday, Shahab Ali Shah, who was serving as additional chief secretary (Home) in Balochistan, has been transferred and appointed as the new chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Shahab Ali Shah has extensive experience in administration and planning and he previously held key positions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the additional chief secretary (P&D), the secretary P&D, chief economist, the commissioner Peshawar and political agent/deputy commissioner in several districts, including Khyber. 

Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry was appointed as KP chief secretary by the federal government on March 21, 2023. He had replaced Imdad Bosal as the chief secretary.

After the formation of a PTI government Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur repeatedly sought Chaudhry’s removal but he remained unsuccessful.

In March 2024, Gandapur held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the appointment of a new chief secretary.

After that meeting, a panel of three names had been sent to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat for the appointment of the new provincial chief secretary.

The three officers on the panel sent to the PM Secretariat were Shahab Ali Shah, Usman Akhtar Bajwa and Ali Tahir.

 Sources in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government earlier told HUM News English that the provincial government and Gandapur were interested in appointing Shahab Ali Shah as the new chief secretary, and this was also expressed by the KP chief minister in his meeting with the prime minister.

Shahab Ali Shah, as the additional chief secretary of P&D Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, initiated several mega projects in the province, and that was why the reason the provincial government was interested in appointing him as the chief secretary.