KARACHI, Jan 8: Sindh Home Secretary Brig (retd) Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram has been transferred with immediate effect and asked to report to the services and general administration department.

He has been replaced by senior District Management Group officer Arif Ahmad Khan, who was awaiting posting after returning from his assignment abroad, it is reliably learnt.

Before his posting abroad, Mr Khan had worked in various capacities, including deputy commissioner of Nawabshah.

Brig Mohtaram’s departure from the home department is the first major administrative change which has come in the aftermath of four-day devastation in Sindh following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, sources close to the provincial administration told Dawn. They added that more changes in the administrative set-up, including that of the provincial police officer, were on the cards.

In the wake of devastation of private and public property, scores of factories and industrial units in Sindh had suffered losses of trillion of rupees besides rendering hundreds of workers jobless. Sources pointed out that the affected industrialists and civil society were upset over the attitude of the authorities who did not act on time to deploy Rangers to control the situation.

The replacement of a retired brigadier with a civilian officer also appears to be in line with the new policy of the Musharraf government which is under tremendous pressure from European countries and US congressmen to hold fair, free and transparent elections.

Considered to be very close to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Brig Mohtaram’s transfer before the coming election was the biggest change in the powerful echelon of administration which would help pacify the PPP supporters.

Brig Mohtaram was not available for comment.

However, Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman told Dawn that the contract period of Brig Mohtaram was to expire on January 31, 2008. He had desired to relinquish charge much before the December 27 tragedy. The chief secretary termed it a routine matter, saying that there was no need to read too much into the transfer.