Islamabad: The government on Wednesday sacked federal health secretary Dr Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah in what was the second such dismissal in a week, Dawn reported. Previously, the executive had appointed Dr Shah (BS-21) as the in-charge additional secretary in place of the then health secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik (BS-22).
According to reports, Dr Shah was dismissed over his association with former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif as the latter had served as principal secretary to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president during the Model Town incident in 2014.
Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Dr Tahirul Qadri had criticised the government’s decision to appoint Dr Shah as the health official. “The masterminds and perpetrators of #ModelTownMassacre were afraid of being caught during the past government but now they do not feel any fear during Imran Khan’s government,” he said in a tweet.
“I am short of words to express deepest congratulations to Prime Minister Imran Khan on appointing the criminals and main characters involved in #ModelTownCase on even higher ranks during his own governance,” he added.
On Wednesday, the executive notified the appointment of Dr Tanveer Ahmed Qureshi, a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service group, as the additional secretary (in-charge) of the National Health Services (NHS).
