Govt appoints new finance secretary ahead of budget 2023-24

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year budget, the federal government has transferred Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, instructing him to report to the Establishment Division. 

Following the transfer, the Establishment Division appointed Imdadullah Bosal, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), as the new secretary of the Finance Division.

Sources reveal that Sheikh, also a BS-22 officer of the PAS, had submitted a written request to the government for leave. However, the government was hesitant to grant his request due to the upcoming budget for 2023-24, scheduled to be unveiled on June 9.

Sheikh’s reasons for seeking relief included attending his child’s graduation ceremony abroad, experiencing back pain from prolonged office hours, and a potential lucrative assignment with an FCDO-funded project (yet to be confirmed).

Sheikh had rendered his services during a critical period when the country was striving to meet the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reinstate the Fund-sponsored program. Over the past few years, he had served under both the Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Democratic Movement-led regimes, exerting considerable efforts to sustain the IMF program despite the lender’s stringent stance.

He strongly opposed the government’s unilateral decision to implement a cross-fuel subsidy plan without consulting the IMF. Unfortunately, his endeavors were in vain, as the IMF has not yet resumed the halted program, despite the authorities’ tireless efforts in Islamabad over the past several months.