PM appoints retired Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal as special assistant on energy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has named retired Lt Gen Muhammad Zafar Iqbal to the post of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for energy, a role carrying minister of state rank. According to a Prime Minister's Office notification, Iqbal will supervise the power and petroleum divisions, with the decision taking effect at once under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973. Profit by Pakistan Today reported the appointment.

Federal ministers Sardar Awais Khan Leghari and Ali Pervaiz Malik lead the power and petroleum divisions respectively at present. Policymakers have long weighed merging the two divisions into one energy ministry to sharpen coordination.

Iqbal already heads the National Coordination and Management Council, which was formed in April after the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the regional conflict. That body replaced a price committee previously run by the finance minister, and it oversees crude, refined fuel, LNG and LPG imports, along with petroleum exports and priorities for power generation.