Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz removed Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Mir Raza Ozgen on Sunday after intermediate Computer Science papers in the district were postponed because of arrangements for her scheduled visit. The decision came within hours of the postponement being announced, followed by an order restoring the examinations to their original date.
The Computer Science papers for the Intermediate Second Annual Examinations 2026 had been scheduled for Tuesday, November 10. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi then moved the morning and evening papers in Jhelum district to November 30, saying the change had been made on the deputy commissioner’s recommendation and because of arrangements linked to her visit.
Maryam Nawaz reacted sharply once the postponement drew public attention. She said she had already instructed officials to make sure her district visits did not inconvenience the public, and she described the postponement as a violation of those directions. The chief minister then ordered the deputy commissioner’s removal with immediate effect, announcing the decision in a post on X.
Maryam Nawaz Orders Immediate Removal of Jhelum DC
The chain of events began with a letter from the Jhelum deputy commissioner to the Rawalpindi board. In it, Ozgen said the deployment of administrative and security personnel during the chief minister’s visit meant it would not be feasible to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination in the district. The board accepted the recommendation, and its Controller of Examinations, Mubashir Saeed, issued a notification moving the papers to November 30, with both groups keeping their original shifts.
The chief minister made her displeasure public. “Despite my explicit instructions that no inconvenience or disruption whatsoever should be caused to the public during my visits to the districts, such an incident has nevertheless occurred. This is a clear disregard for my directions. Accordingly, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) is hereby REMOVED FROM THE POST WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT,” she wrote on X.
A Punjab government notification soon afterwards confirmed the transfer. Ozgen, a BS-19 officer, was directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department for further orders. Meanwhile, Asma Ijaz, a BS-19 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, was posted as the new deputy commissioner of Jhelum.
Exams Restored to Original November 10 Schedule
Alongside the removal, the chief minister ordered the affected examinations to be held on their original schedule, Tuesday, November 10. She criticised what she described as “foolishness” and “misplaced over-smartness” by the district administration, and she said students should not face disruption because of arrangements for her visit.
The postponement had applied only to Jhelum district. Students appearing at examination centres in the other districts under the Rawalpindi board were due to take their Computer Science papers on November 10 as originally planned, and the board has clarified that the revised schedule never extended beyond Jhelum.
The episode came in the middle of a large examination exercise. The Intermediate Second Annual Examinations 2026 began across the Rawalpindi division on Tuesday, November 3, with Part-II papers running until November 16 and Part-I papers following from November 17 to November 28. The board set up 41 examination centres across its six districts, including five in Jhelum, with roll number slips already issued.
The second annual examinations are held for students appearing to improve their grades or to clear subjects they could not pass in the first annual cycle. For those students, a date change so close to the paper carries a real cost, since preparation and travel are built around a fixed timetable. A shift of twenty days would have pushed the papers into the final week of the cycle, leaving Jhelum’s students out of step with the rest of the division.
Maryam Nawaz Issues New Instructions for Official Visits
Following the controversy, the chief minister issued broader instructions to commissioners, deputy commissioners, regional police officers and district police officers across Punjab. She directed officials not to close markets, shops or businesses because of her visits, and not to seal residential streets or restrict residents’ movement in the name of security. Security measures, she said, should remain discreet, and she warned that failure to follow the instructions could lead to strict action.
The message reaches beyond a single district. Official visits routinely involve heavy police deployment, road closures and the suspension of routine work, and district officers often treat elaborate arrangements as a sign of diligence. What happened in Jhelum shows the other side of that habit, where the effort to impress a visiting leader disrupts the very people the visit is meant to serve. By removing the officer responsible and putting the instruction in writing for the whole province, Maryam Nawaz has turned an embarrassing episode into a test case.
The timing also matters. The chief minister is expected to visit Jhelum and Pind Dadan Khan on November 10, the same day the restored papers will now be held, so the district administration will have to manage both on the same day. The new deputy commissioner takes over with that dual task already waiting. For the students of Jhelum, the outcome is straightforward: their papers will be held as first scheduled.
