ISLAMABAD: Secretary Climate Change Arif Ahmad Khan has been appointed federal secretary interior and Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui special secretary in view of the enormous workload being handled by the Ministry of Interior.

Shahid Khan, the outgoing secretary interior who was relieved by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday, has been appointed secretary to the president. The position has been vacant since retirement of Ahmad Farooq on Nov 3 last year.

Shahid Khan was made secretary interior after Chaudhry Qamar Zaman was appointed chairman of the National Accountability Bureau in 2013.

Sources told Dawn that Shahid Khan had requested the interior minister to relieve him because his health was not allowing him to take so much workload.

Arif Ahmad Khan has previously served as additional secretary in the interior ministry for a brief period in 2014. After his promotion in Grade 22 last year he was appointed secretary climate change. He had also worked as home secretary in Sindh for over three years, deputy commissioner in three districts of Sindh, besides holding position of finance secretary and additionalchief secretary (Planning and Development).HealsoworkedasPakistan`s consul general in Montreal, Canada.

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui is a district management group officer who had graduated as civil engineer before qualifying for the civil service. He has recently been relieved of his position as commissioner of Karachi, a post he held for about three years.