ISLAMABAD: In a sudden administrative move on Friday, the federal government removed Petroleum Secretary Momin Agha and directed him to report to the Establishment Division without assigning him any further posting.The additional charge of Petroleum Secretary has been given on a temporary basis to Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Ahmad, Additional Secretary Petroleum, until a permanent appointment is made.According to informed sources, tensions had been building between Mr. Agha and Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik over the past few months, despite both being considered close to the top leadership of the PML-N. The disagreements reportedly centered on key policy and administrative issues, including gas allocation decisions, third-party utilization of pipeline capacity by private companies, nominations for boards of public sector entities, and appointments within the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), including the post of chairman.The discord ultimately resulted in the abrupt exit of Mr. Agha, a Grade-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service and a former member of the District Management Group. Observers note a parallel with last year’s reshuffle, which led to the transfer of former Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik to the Climate Change Division following similar bureaucratic frictions.In a related development, Muhammad Khalid Rehman has been appointed as Managing Director of Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (PPL) for an interim period of three months, in addition to his ongoing role as Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Sikandar Ali Memon, who had been serving in an interim capacity but was not retained after reaching superannuation.Speculation suggests further changes may be imminent across departments and subsidiaries under the petroleum division, as bureaucrats aligned with the minister are reportedly poised to occupy strategic board positions in lucrative state-owned petroleum companies.