KARACHI, Nov 24: Federal Ports and Shipping Secretary Fazlur Rahman on Saturday staged a comeback to the province’s top bureaucracy post, replacing Sindh Chief Secretary Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi and ending days of speculation about the latter’s transfer in a significant pre-poll shuffle.

Mr Qureshi has been appointed federal environment secretary. He will relieve Additional Secretary Samiul Haq Khilji of the additional charge he was holding upon the transfer of former federal environment secretary Mian Mohammad Jamil on the last day of Faisal Saleh Hayat’s tenure as the minister for environment.

Mr Rahman, who earlier held the post of Sindh chief secretary from June 2005 to March 2007, returned to the province after a gap of eight and a half months.

The intervening period saw two chief secretaries: Shakil Durrani from March 12 to July 12 and Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi from July 12 to Nov 24.

Mr Rahman, who is expected to assume office on Monday, will be the 43rd chief secretary since the province of Sindh came into being in 1936 and the 28th since the dismemberment of One Unit on July 1, 1970. Earlier, he had served in Sindh as the accountant general, secretary finance, additional chief secretary and controller general accountants.