ISLAMABAD - New Prime Minster Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has reshuffled at least eight federal secretaries, the most prominent being replacement of Khusnood Lashari with Muhammad Ayub Qazi as Principal Secretary to PM.

It was already being expected that Raja would replace the old team of bureaucrats formed by former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani. He made these major changes in top bureaucracy with the due consultation with his party boss President Asif Ali Zardari, sources said. They added that Ayub Qazi, a senior officer of DMG group, is considered a close buddy of Raja.
A PM House statement said that prime minister has approved the new postings. A notification issued by the establishment division said Tamoor Azmat Usman, former information and broadcasting secretary who was holding additional charge of establishment secretary, has been posted as establishment secretary, while Chaudhry Rasheed Ahmed would take of Information ministry. Waqar Masood has replaced Ijaz Chaudhry as petroleum and natural resources secretary. Previously, he was working as economic affairs secretary and now Javed Iqbal has succeeded him who was earlier serving as narcotics secretary.
Israr Rauf, previously posted in FBR Karachi, would hold the office of capital administration and development division (CADD) secretary while his predecessor Imtiaz Inayat Elahi has been appointed as national regulation and services division secretary. Trade Additional Secretary Kamran Qureshi has been appointed as secretary of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan affairs. The PM has also approved appointment of Maj-Gen Tauqeer as Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Service Corporation (PASCO) managing director. Former secretary of national regulations and services division, Farid Ullah Khan and Climate Change Division Secretary Javed Malik have been directed to report to the establishment division.
Earlier, Hasan Nawaz Tarar, a DMG officer of cabinet division was holding the additional charge of Principal Secretary to PM in place of Khushnood Akhtar Lashari as he is abroad due to health reason. Former Principal Secretary to PM Khushnood Lashari is also facing allegations of misuse of power for issuing of out of turn quota in ephedrine corruption scandal.