KARACHI, May 30: A tit-for-tat row between the provincial government and the city government over the posting of an executive district officer deepened on Friday when it emerged that the latter had appointed a senior engineer of the works and services department as the new EDO.

Sindh minister for Works and Services Manzoor Wassan held a press conference on Thursday to condemn the city government for what he described as “running a state within a state” by refusing to comply with the provincial government’s order through which it transferred a Grade-19 official, Iqbal Mahmood Lakho, from Jacobabad to Karachi and posted him as EDO of the works and services department.

Requesting anonymity, senior city government officials wondered as to why Mr Wassan was so “overly eager” to post Mr Lakho as EDO despite the fact that such a move was likely to bring the coalition government of the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement under added strain.

They claimed that Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, through a notification dated May 17, had appointed Amanullah Chachar as new EDO of the works and services department in place of Nisar Sario, who retired on May 17 after attaining the age of superannuation.

However, well-informed sources told Dawn that Mr Chachar’s appointment order had been backdated to avoid legal complications. Mr Chachar, a Grade-20 officer in the works and services department, had worked as EDO from September 2006 to July 2007.

The city government officials said that the city government had never extended the service of Mr Sario as EDO on a contractual basis because it was strictly following the decision of the Sindh government which had imposed a ban on reappointment of officials on a contractual basis.