By SKM
January 9, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has transferred Mr. Momin Agha, Secretary of the Petroleum Division, and directed him to report to the Establishment Division with immediate effect, according to a notification issued on January 8, 2025.
Following his transfer, Mr. Nasir-ud-Din Mashood Ahmed, a BS-22 officer of the Secretariat Group currently serving as Special Secretary in the Petroleum Division, has been assigned the additional charge of Secretary Petroleum Division. He will hold the look-after charge in addition to his own duties until the posting of a regular incumbent.
Sources said that Mr. Agha was transferred while he was in the United Arab Emirates attending a PARCO board meeting. There have been reports suggesting tensions between Mr. Agha and Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik over certain policy matters; however, no official confirmation has been issued in this regard.
When contacted, Mr. Agha said that he had already served a considerable tenure as Secretary Petroleum and stressed that postings and transfers are the prerogative of the government. He added that transfers are a routine administrative matter in public service.
Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik declined to comment on the development and did not respond to a query sent by this correspondent seeking clarification on the reasons behind the transfer.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Petroleum Minister’s recent statement to electronic media claiming that smuggling of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) products from Iran has reached approximately Rs300 billion annually. However, earlier briefings by the Director General ISPR stated that smuggling of POL products had largely been curtailed, resulting in a significant increase in sales of imported fuel and products from local refineries, as well as higher tax revenues from POL products.
Sources suggest that the conflicting claims regarding the scale of POL smuggling created concern among key decision-makers, and the reported figure of Rs300 billion annually triggered apprehension at policy levels. Some quarters believe that, in this context, the Secretary Petroleum was made a scapegoat for broader policy and enforcement challenges.
Despite his transfer, sources said that Mr. Momin Agha enjoys the confidence of the Prime Minister, and there are indications that he may be accommodated in another important position in the near future. Ends
