ISLAMABAD: The government has accepted the resignation of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar.
A notification has been issued in this regard by the Cabinet Secretariat stating that the prime minister has accepted his resignation with effect from September 21.
Tabish Gauhar has resigned as Special Assistant Prime Minister on (SAPM) on Power earlier this year in January. Gauhar resigned from his designation citing external interference in his job and conflict with federal ministers supported by strong stakeholders in the petroleum sector.
It was reported that the government was considering restricting Gauhar’s role only to the power sector and he will have no role as the SAPM in the petroleum sector.
Tabish Gauhar was made SAPM on Petroleum also when Nadeem Babar quit under the directions of prime minister on account of an inquiry into the petrol crisis that hit the country in June 2020. Gauhar is the second SAPM on power during the two and a half year tenure of the Khan administration to leave the office.
In November 2020, Prime Minister’s SAPM on Power Syed Shahzad Qasim, tendered his resignation a few days after Prime Minister Imran Khan asked him to focus on Coordination of Marketing and Development of Mineral Resources.
Gauhar was reportedly disturbed after an inquiry into the petrol crisis undertaken by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Byco refinery in the scam. The FIA recommended punitive action against Byco Refinery and further probe into its suspicious/illegal activities. Gauhar had limited himself to the advisory role in recent weeks and has not been attending official meetings at operational level since a long time.
