Imdad Ullah Bosal appointed as new finance secretary by federal government

The Federal government has appointed Imdad Ullah Bosal as the new Finance Secretary in preparation for the fiscal year 2023-2024.

According to the notification, the government has appointed Imdad Ullah Bosal, a grade 22 officer, as the new Finance Secretary. On May 3, 2023, Bosal was appointed Special Secretary of the Finance division.

He possesses a master’s degree in Political Economy of Development from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). In addition, he possesses a master’s degree in Public Policy from Oxford University.

Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh purportedly requested a two-year leave of absence two weeks ago, as he and finance minister Ishaq Dar were reportedly on different pages regarding the stalled IMF programme.

Notably, the Finance Ministry under his stewardship has been in negotiations with the IMF for the past four months, but the IMF is unwilling to sign a Staff Level Agreement with Pakistan.

According to sources, Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh will provide financial consulting services to international organisations such as DFID. When he was serving Punjab, he provided international organisations with consulting services.

Notably, the Supreme Court has the authority to issue a competent notice to the Finance Secretary for failing to release Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The politically mobile character of the position is another reason why no one wants to fill this position.

In addition, the federal government has appointed managing directors for the Pak-Kuwait, Pak-Libya, Pak-Oman, and Pak-Brunei investment firms.

Saad ur Rehman has been appointed as Managing Director of Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, Tariq Mahmood as Managing Director of Pak Libya, S.M Amir Shamim as Managing Director of Pak Brunei, Nauman Ansari as Managing Director of Pak Oman, and Hasan Raza of UBL as Managing Director of Pak China for three years, pending approval from the State Bank of Pakistan.