Captain (R) Shahid Ashraf Tarar ( ur, شاہد اشرف تارڑ) is a BPS-22 Pakistani civil servant who has served as Caretaker Federal Minister for

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

Maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

and

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

from 17 August 2023 to 4 March 2024. His career spans various senior roles including Chairman

National Highway Authority The National Highway Authority (NHA; ur, ) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Communications (Pakistan), Ministry of Communications (MoCom) of Pakistan. History In 1978, the Government of Pakistan federalised five important inter-prov ...

and Federal Public Service Commission. Notably, he was appointed as the Executive Director of the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...

on behalf of seven countries including Pakistan. Prior to his civil service, Tarar served in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, retiring with the rank of Captain.

Career

Tarar belongs to Pakistan Administrative Service. He started his career as an Assistant Commissioner in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. He is a retired

Federal Secretary The federal secretary (also referred to as the secretary to the Government of Pakistan) is the highest-ranking position in the Government of Pakistan, occupied by the most senior civil servant in a specific ministry or division. The secretary is ...

who joined the 13th Common in the Civil Service after retiring from the

as a Captain. He also served as Secretary Excise & Taxation Punjab, Director General

National Vocational and Technical Training Commission National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) ( ur, ) is a regulatory body for technical education and vocational training in Pakistan. It was founded by its chairman Altaf M. Saleem. See also *Technical Education and Vocational ...

(NAVTTC) Tarar also served as the Chairman

(NHA) in the Nawaz Sharif-led government. He oversaw speedy and timely completion of multi-billion projects as the head of NHA at that time. He has also been the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Communications from November 2014 to December 2016. In November 2018, Tarar was appointed as an Executive Director

by the seven countries comprising Pakistan. He was also appointed as the Chairman Human Resources Committee of the World Bank Board. Before joining as a caretaker minister, Tarar was appointed as chairman Federal Public Service Commission by the Shahbaz Sharif-led government in July 2023. He was sworn in by President Dr. Arif Alvi. Tarar was sworn in as the Caretaker Federal Minister in the Kakar Cabinet on 17 August 2023 and was allotted three portfolios:

, Maritime Affairs,

References

{{Kakar Cabinet Living people Pakistani civil servants Federal ministers of Pakistan Communications Ministers of Pakistan Minister of Railways (Pakistan) Government ministers of Pakistan World Bank Group people