Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar announced on Tuesday that he had resigned from the post, almost a year after his appointment, reports Dawn.
“After a year of public service, I’ve decided to call it a day to return to my family. It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the country, to the best of my abilities, in an honorary capacity. I shall remain indebted to the PM for giving me this opportunity,” he tweeted after stepping down as the SAPM.
He added that while challenges in the energy sector were manifold, he had “no doubt that under the able leadership of Hammad Azhar, the MOE (Ministry of Energy) team will continue to stay the course on structural reforms”.
After Gauhar resigned, the Cabinet Division issued a notification, saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan had accepted his resignation with effect from September 20.
Gauhar, a former managing director of K-Electric (KE) and a senior executive of troubled Abraaj Capital of Arif Naqvi, had replaced Shahzad Qasim as the SAPM on Power in September last year. He had been given the additional charge of the premier’s aide on petroleum, replacing Nadeem Babar, in March this year.
Last month, he had written a letter to Azhar, pointing out multiple challenges in the energy sector and urging that strategies be chalked out and “holistic and structural reforms” be made to address them.
Gauhar is also the founder and chairperson of Oasis Energy, a management consultancy firm in the power and energy sector. He has a first-class honours degree from King’s College, London, and also an MBA degree from the Institute of Business Administration in Pakistan.
He had stepped down as director, chief executive officer, and chairperson of the KE board in 2015 after working at the organisation for over seven years.
