PM Shehbaz Appoints Retired Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal as SAPM on Energy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday appointed Lieutenant General (retd) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal as special assistant to the prime minister on energy, giving him charge of the power and petroleum divisions of the Ministry of Energy.

According to a notification from the Prime Minister’s Office, the appointment was made under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973, with the status of a minister of state and immediate effect. The Cabinet Division has been directed to complete the formalities.

Zafar Iqbal SAPM energy role builds on NCMC charge

Iqbal is not new to the energy brief. He has already been overseeing the power and petroleum divisions as head of the National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC), a special forum set up in April to replace the national coordination committee on prices led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The NCMC was created soon after the Strait of Hormuz was closed following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, a disruption that forced Islamabad to rethink how it manages fuel security. The council now handles imports of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG and LPG, exports of furnace oil, and the setting of power generation priorities.

That background matters. Pakistan’s fuel supply lines have stayed under pressure all year, with Brent crude climbing on Hormuz disruption fears, prices jumping as China suspended fuel exports and warnings of $200 oil if the strait stays shut, alongside emergency oil stock releases shaping global prices. Putting a single coordinator over both energy divisions signals the government wants faster, unified decisions rather than the two divisions pulling in different directions.

Two divisions, two ministers, one coordinator

The Power Division and the Petroleum Division are currently headed by two full-fledged federal ministers, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari and Ali Pervaiz Malik. Iqbal’s appointment adds a coordinating layer above them with minister-of-state rank.

Successive governments have debated merging the two into a single energy ministry for coherent policymaking. The merger never fully happened: former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi downgraded both ministries to divisions under a new Ministry of Energy, but later PML-N governments kept appointing separate federal ministers for each. The resulting tariff and supply frictions have repeatedly landed in courts and headlines.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Lt Gen (retd) Zafar Iqbal?

He is a retired lieutenant general who headed the National Coordination and Management Council overseeing energy imports, exports and power generation priorities before his appointment as SAPM on energy.

What does an SAPM on energy do?

A special assistant to the prime minister advises and coordinates on a assigned portfolio. Iqbal will oversee the affairs of the power and petroleum divisions, which are currently run by two separate federal ministers.

Why was the NCMC created?

The council was formed in April after the Strait of Hormuz closed following US-Israeli attacks on Iran in February, to give the government a single forum managing fuel imports, exports and power generation priorities during the supply crisis.

Tags: Zafar Iqbal, SAPM energy, Shehbaz Sharif, power division, petroleum division, NCMC