Karachi: The Sindh government has carried out a major reshuffle in its health administration, appointing Mr Tahir Hussain Sangi, a senior PAS officer, as Secretary Health, days after the removal of Rehan Baloch, a powerful bureaucrat whose tenure had triggered serious friction within the department, officials said.
According to a notification issued by the Government of Sindh, Tahir Hussain Sangi, previously serving as Commissioner Larkana Division, has been transferred and posted as Secretary (BS-20), Health Department, with immediate effect and until further orders.
The notification further states that Jamshed Alam Memon, who had been serving as Special Secretary (Administration) Health, has been relieved of the “look-after charge” of the department following Sangi’s appointment.
The notification was issued with the approval of Asif Hyder Shah, and is widely seen as an attempt to reset command and control within Sindh’s troubled health sector after months of internal discord.
Senior government said the reshuffle comes in the immediate aftermath of the removal of Rehan Baloch, who had emerged as one of the most influential health secretaries in Sindh’s recent history.
During his tenure, Baloch reportedly centralised decision-making to such an extent that several officials were sidelined. Multiple officials privately complained that key policy, administrative and financial decisions were being taken without consultation, creating friction between the secretary’s office, technical directorates and the political leadership.
“Rehan Baloch had become more powerful than the system allowed,” a senior Sindh health official said on condition of anonymity. “There were repeated complaints that even the health minister was bypassed and instructions were not aligned with the minister’s priorities.”
The growing disconnect reportedly led to governance paralysis in several areas, including postings, procurement decisions and programme oversight, prompting intervention at the highest administrative level.
The appointment of Tahir Hussain Sangi is being interpreted within bureaucratic circles as an effort to restore institutional balance and re-establish the authority of technical directorates under the political leadership.
Sangi is considered an experienced field administrator with a reputation for working through formal chains of command rather than bypassing them. Officials said the expectation is that he will recalibrate the relationship between the health secretary’s office, director general and the health minister’s team.
“This is clearly a corrective move,” another senior official said. “The message is that the secretary will coordinate, not dominate.”
The reshuffle comes at a critical time for Sindh’s health department, which is struggling with multiple challenges, including outbreaks of infectious diseases, hospital governance issues, staffing shortages and questions over regulatory oversight.
Observers say sustained instability at the top has weakened long-term planning and implementation, and that frequent changes at the secretary level disrupt continuity in major health programmes.