ISLAMABAD: Following the oath-taking ceremony of Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, Syed Tauqeer Shah, prime suspect in the Rawalpindi Ring Road project scandal, has been transferred and posted as secretary to the prime minister.
“Dr Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, a BS-21 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, presently awaiting posting in Establishment Division, is transferred and posted as Secretary to the prime minister, Prime Minister’s Office, under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, with immediate effect and until further orders,” the statement issued by the Cabinet Secretariat read.
In his May 2021 report on the scam, then-Rawalpindi Commissioner Syed Gulzar Hussain clearly mentioned the name of Shah and said: “R3 alignment along Paswal Zigzag was contrived to benefit Dr Syed Tauqeer Shah and his family.”
Shah rejected the contents of the report, insisting that his name was put in the inquiry report to defame him and he reserved the right to challenge its findings.
Sharif was elected as the premier after the ouster of his predecessor Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion.
Earlier in the day, Sharif secured 174 votes in the NA as opposed to PTI’s candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who received no votes after his party decided to boycott the process.
It is worth mentioning that Mohammad Azam Khan, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, was serving as the secretary to former prime minister Imran Khan.
Azam is among the six key aides of former PM Imran Khan whose names have been added to the no-fly list.
