Post on 27-Feb-2023
Chapter 4
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
The history of appointment of Deputy Commissioner in Muzaffargarh goes as
far back as 1849 when the district was annexed to the British Empire. The
Deputy Commissioner remained subordinate to the Commissioner of Multan till 1982 when District Dera Ghazi Khan was separated from Multan Division
and made an independent Division. In addition to the District Dera Ghazi
Khan itself, Muzaffargarh, Layyah and Rajanpur constituted the new
Division.
Mr. Wedderburn, a British, had the honour of being the first Deputy
Commissioner of the district. Sardar Gurdial Singh Man was the first native
Deputy Commissioner of Muzaffargarh who held the office briefly from April
25, 1888 to June 22, 1888 only to come back again in 1889 for a longer run of nearly 4 years. However, the longest serving Deputy Commissioner was
Khan Bahadur Syed Bunyad Hussain who held the office from November 5,
1936 to October 15, 1941, i.e. just 20 days short of 5 years. Maulvi Inam Ali
had the distinction of being the first Muslim Deputy Commissioner who
remained in office from October 15, 1897 to October 21, 1898. Malik Muhammad Rustam Kiyani, also known as M. R. Kiyani, who later served as
Chief Justice of West Pakistan (1958-62), had also remained Deputy
Commissioner Muzaffargarh for around 9 months in 1931. At the time of
partition, Raja Sultan Lal Hussain was serving as the Deputy Commissioner.
M. Masud, who later came to be known as Masud Khaddarposh, owing to his
revolutionary thoughts and plain living, had also served as Deputy Commissioner Muzaffargarh from September 8, 1951 to May 7, 1953. The
author of this gazetteer had the honour of being 195th head of the District
Administration of Muzaffargarh.
As regards the evolution of office, by 1929, the Deputy Commissioner was
assisted by 2 Sub-Divisional officers posted at Layyah and Alipur. The
Deputy Commissioner was also the District Magistrate whereas the Assistant
Commissioners/Sub-Divisional Magistrates and Extra-Assistant Commissioners/Magistrates had first class magisterial powers. The
Tehsildars and Naib-Tehsildars were magistrates of 2nd and 3rd class
respectively. The Deputy Commissioner was the Collector of the district too,
and as such headed the district revenue staff. He was assisted by a Revenue
Assistant at the headquarters and by the 2 Sub-Divisional Officers who
exercised the powers of Assistant Collectors. The details were as follows:
Tehsildar Naib-Tehsildar Qanungo Patwari/
Assistant Patwari
Muzaffargarh 1 3 10 121
Layyah 1 2 6 63
Alipur 1 1 9 95
Kot Addu 1 1 6 69
By 1964, the Deputy Commissioner was still assisted by 2 Sub-Divisional
Officers; one each stationed at Alipur and Layyah. The Sub-Divisional officers
also exercised powers of Assistant Collectors subject to the control of the Deputy Commissioner/District Collector. There was slight variation in the
strength of revenue staff though, as is evident from the following table:
Tehsildar Naib-Tehsildar Qanungo Patwari/ Assistant Patwari
Muzaffargarh 1 3 10 116
Layyah 1 1 6 61
Alipur 1 1 9 91
Kot Addu 1 1 6 66
The Deputy Commissioner was still the District Magistrate and was assisted
in magisterial work by an Additional District Magistrate, one General
Assistant, one Treasury Officer and two Sub-Divisional Magistrates at Alipur
and Layyah respectively. The Revenue Assistant, being an Extra Assistant Commissioner, was also invested with the powers of a Magistrate and was
accordingly entrusted with the magisterial work by the District Magistrate.
All those magistrates exercised 1st Class powers while the District
Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate and Sub-Divisional Magistrate,
Alipur had powers under Section 30 and Section 260 of the Criminal
Procedure Code, 1898 too. They also had the powers to hear appeals from the orders of the 2nd and 3rd Class Magistrates in their respective
jurisdictions. The General Assistant, Muzaffargarh too was exercising powers
under Section 30 of the Criminal Procedure Code. All the Tehsildars and
Naib-Tehsildars were invested with the powers of 2nd and 3rd Class
Magistrates respectively.
The system underwent a drastic change in 2001 with the promulgation of
the Local Government Ordinance, 2001, commonly referred to as the
Devolution of Power Plan, whereby the office of the Deputy Commissioner
was abolished and replaced with the District Coordination Officer (DCO),
under the overall command of an elected District Nazim. The district departments were grouped into 9 sets, each headed by an Executive District
Officer, who were in turn answerable and subordinate to the District
Coordination Officer. The executive magistracy was also abolished and the
head of the District Administration ceased to be the District Magistrate.
With the promulgation of the Punjab Civil Administration Act 2017, the office
of the Deputy Commissioner was revived on January 1, 2017, albeit in a different form. However, he was not invested with the powers of the District
Magistrate.
At present, the Deputy Commissioner is assisted by 3 Additional Deputy
Commissioners (Revenue, General and Finance) as well as an Assistant
Commissioner (Coordination and Human Resource) and a General Assistant
Revenue at the headquarters. All the 4 tehsils are headed by the Assistant
Commissioners. The Deputy Commissioner as well as the Additional Deputy
Commissioner (Revenue) exercise the powers of the District Collector whereas the Assistant Commissioners exercise powers of Collectors of Sub-
Divisions subject to the control of the District Collector. An overview of the
revenue staff of the District is as follows:
Village Revenue
Circle
Qanungoi
Circle
Patwar
Circle
Tehsildar Naib-Tehsildar
Muzaffargarh 423 6 11 130 1 5
Kot Addu 341 7 8 136 1 6
Alipur 207 3 5 60 1 2
Jatoi 93 4 5 48 1 3
1064 20 29 374 4 16
LIST OF DEPUTY COMMISSIONERS MUZAFFARGARH
NAME FROM TO
MR. WEDDERBURN MR. J. H. PRINSEP LT. JAMES
1849
LT. FARRINGTON CAPTAIN VOYLE LT. McNEILE LT. J. S. TIGHE CAPTAIN BRISTOW
1850-57
MR. HENDERSON 1858
CAPTAIN BRISTOW CAPTAIN MAXWELL
1859
LT. J. S. TIGHE 1860
1 CAPTAIN J.S. TIGHE 01-01-1861 31-07-1861
2 CAPTAIN T. F. FORSTER 01-08-1861 31-10-1861
3 CAPTAIN J.S. TIGHE 01-11-1861 31-07-1862
4 CAPTAIN H. J. HAWES 01-08-1862 24-10-1865
5 MR. R. G. MELVILL 25-10-1865 24-12-1865
6 MAJOR H. J. HAWES 25-12-1865 08-04-1866
7 CAPTAIN R. G. MELVILL 09-04-1866 16-12-1866
8 MAJOR H. J. HAWES 17-12-1866 02-05-1868
9 CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG 03-05-1868 14-06-1868
10 CAPTAIN J. FENDALL 15-06-1868 30-04-1869
11 MR. G. E. WAKEFIELD 01-05-1869 31-10-1869
12 CAPTAIN J. FENDALL 01-11-1869 28-07-1870
13 MR. M. MACAULIFFE 29-07-1870 07-09-1870
14 CAPTAIN J. FENDALL 08-9-1870 27-05-1871
15 CAPTAIN F. J. MILLER 28-05-1871 09-06-1871
16 MR. F.D. BULLOOK 10-06-1871 09-02-1872
17 CAPTAIN F. J. MILLER 10-02-1872 22-03-1872
18 MR. J. D. TREMLETT 23-03-1872 16-08-1875
19 MR. F. E. MOORE 17-08-1875 05-11-1875
20 MR. J. D. TREMLETT 06-11-1875 03-06-1876
21 MR. D. B. SINCLAIR 04-06-1876 03-07-1876
22 MR. J. D. TREMLETT 04-07-1876 08-03-1877
23 MAJOR F. D. HARRINGTON 09-03-1877 08-12-1878
24 MR. M. MACAULIFFE 09-12-1878 09-05-1879
25 MR. EDWARD O’BRIEN 10-05-1879 26-10-1879
26 MR. M. MACAULIFFE 27-10-1879 07-03-1880
27 MR. EDWARD O’BRIEN 08-03-1880 31-05-1881
28 MR. C. E. GLADSTONE 01-06-1881 17-07-1881
29 MR. H. W. STEEL 18-07-1881 24-11-1881
30 MR. EDWARD O’BRIEN 25-11-1881 31-05-1882
31 MR. C. E. GLADSTONE 01-06-1882 11-06-1883
32 MR. R. MACONACHIE 12-06-1883 26-07-1883
33 MR. C. E. GLADSTONE 29-07-1883 26-10-1883
34 MR. A. H. BENTON 27-10-1883 10-11-1884
35 MR. J. C. BROWN 11-11-1884 04-06-1886
36 MR. H. MEREDITH 05-06-1886 15-08-1886
37 MR. T. C. BROWN 16-08-1886 17-02-1887
38 MR. H. W. STEEL 18-02-1887 24-04-1888
39 SARDAR GURDIAL SINGH MAN 25-04-1888 22-06-1888
40 MR. H. W. STEEL 23-06-1888 19-04-1889
41 SARDAR GURDIAL SINGH MAN 20-04-1889 05-03-1893
42 CAPTAIN F. E. BRADSHAW 06-03-1893 24-04-1893
43 CAPTAIN C. M. DALLAS 25-04-1893 06-11-1893
44 CAPTAIN C. P. EGERTON 07-11-1893 20-11-1893
45 CAPTAIN C. M. DALLAS 21-11-1893 13-08-1894
46 DIWAN NARINDRA NATH 14-08-1894 14-10-1894
47 CAPTAIN C. M. DALLAS 15-10-1894 18-07-1895
48 MR. R. LOVE 19-07-1895 19-08-1895
49 CAPTAIN C. M. DALLAS 20-08-1895 25-02-1896
50 MR. C.L. DUNDAS 26-02-1896 02-04-1896
51 CAPTAIN F. E. BRADSHAW 03-04-1896 24-03-1897
52 MR. R. LOVE 25-03-1897 19-08-1897
53 MR. A. J. W. KITCHIN 20-08-1897 14-10-1897
54 MAULVI INAM ALI 15-10-1897 21-10-1898
55 MR. E. A. ESTCOURT 22-10-1898 20-01-1899
56 MAULVI INAM ALI 21-01-1899 13-10-1899
57 CAPTAIN H. S. FOXSTRANGWAYS 14-10-1899 01-05-1901
58 SHEIKH ASGHAR ALI 02-05-1901 17-06-1901
59 CAPTAIN H. S. FOXSTRONGWAYS 18-06-1901 04-10-1901
60 MR. A. J. W. KITCHIN 05-10-1901 29-10-1901
61 SHEIKH ASGHAR ALI 30-10-1901 02-09-1903
62 MR. A.L.DANDAS 03-09-1903 02-10-1903
63 MR. SHEIKH ASGHAR ALI 03-10-1903 31-10-1905
64 MR. R. T. CLARKE 01-11-1905 13-08-1907
65 MR. N. H. PRENTER 14-08-1907 21-10-1907
66 MR. R. T. CLARKE 22-10-1907 16-02-1908
67 MR. J. M. DUNNETT 17-02-1908 20-10-1908
68 MR. R. SYKES 21-10-1908 01-03-1909
69 RAI BAHADUR PANDIT HARI KISHAN KAUL
02-03-1909 06-04-1910
70 MR.F.W. SKEMP 07-04-1910 16-06-1911
71 LALA TOPAN RAM 17-06-1911 19-06-1911
72 MR. M. S. LEIGH 20-06-1911 31-07-1911
73 MR. F.W. SKEMP 01-08-1911 22-10-1911
74 MAJOR A.J. O’BRIEN, C.I.F. 23-10-1911 07-04-1912
75 MR. F. W. SKEMP 08-04-1912 20-05-1913
76 MR. I. C. LALLI.S.O. 21-05-1913 18-09-1913
77 MR. W.W. POWELL 19-09-1913 18-10-1913
78 MR.I. C. LALL I.S.O. 19-10-1913 20-07-1914
79 SHEIKH RUKAN-UD-DIN 21-07-1914 11-08-1914
80 MR.I. C. LALL I.S.O. 12-08-1914 26-05-1915
81 MR.J.R.S. PARSON 27-05-1915 30-07-1915
82 SHEIKH RUKAN-UD-DIN 31-07-1915 15-08-1915
83 MR.J.R.S. PARSON 16-08-1915 24-10-1915
84 MAJOR C.H. BUCK. I.A. 25-10-1915 04-12-1916
85 MR. E. SHEEPSHANKS 05-12-1916 09-01-1917
86 MAJOR C.H. BUCK. I.A. 10-01-1917 18-03-1917
87 RAI BAHADUR BHAI HOTU SINGH 19-03-1917 13-09-1918
88 MR. H.H. JENKYOS 14-09-1018 12-12-1918
89 RAI BAHADUR BHAI HOTU SINGH 13-12-1918 23-05-1920
90 SHEIKH SIRAJ-UD-DIN 24-05-1920 29-11-1920
91 MR. F. B. WACE 30-11-1920 08-03-1921
92 KHAN BAHADUR SHEIKH SIRAJ-UD-DIN 09-03-1921 25-10-1925
93 SARDAR BAHADUR NIHAL SINGH 7-11-1925 19-05-1926
94 SYED MUHAMMAD SHAH 20-05-1926 04-06-1926
95 SARDAR BAHADUR NIHAL SINGH 5-06-1926 30-06-1927
96 NAWABZADA SAIDULLAH KHAN 01-07-1927 30-09-1928
97 MR. E. H. LINCOLN 01-10-1928 11-03-1931
98 MR. M. R. KIYANI 12-03-1931 08-12-1931
99 SH. NOOR MUHAMMAD 09-12-1931 14-06-1935
100 MALIK SAHIB KHAN NOOR 15-06-1935 14-11-1936
101 KHAN BAHADUR SYED BUNYAD HUSSAIN 05-11-1936 15-10-1941
102 SARDAR NANIK SINGH 16-10-1941 14-01-1944
103 RAJA SULTAN LAL HUSSAIN 15-01-1944 18-08-1947
104 S. IJAZ HUSSAIN 19-08-1947 08-11-1947
105 MR. C. H. DISNEY 08-11-1947 01-01-1948
106 MR. S. M. RASHID 01-01-1948 11-08-1950
107 MR. M. A. CHEEMA 11-08-1950 10-11-1950
108 PIR KARAM SHAH 01-12-1950 13-08-1951
109 M. INAYATULLAH 13-08-1951 08-09-1951
110 MR. M. MASUD 08-09-1951 07-05-1953
111 M. G. YAZDANI MALIK 07-05-1953 20-09-1954
112 M. ABDUL QUYYUM 20-09-1954 07-05-1955
113 MR. M. A. AVAIS 07-05-1955 29-06-1956
114 S. ATTA MUHAMMAD KHAN 29-09-1956 31-12-1957
115 MALIK NOOR MUHAMMAD 31-12-1957 16-12-1958
116 RAJA GHULAM MEHDI 16-12-1958 25-03-1959
117 CH. SULTAN MEHMOOD 25-03-1959 09-11-1960
118 S. MANZOOR HUSSAIN 09-11-1960 01-10-1962
119 MR. S. M. ASKARI NAQVI 01-10-1962 10-05-1963
120 MALIK AHMAD KHAN 11-05-1963 16-04-1964
121 PIR SALAH UD DIN 17-04-1964 16-08-1965
122 DR. M. ARSHAD MALIK 23-08-1965 13-02-1966
123 MR. AHMAD SHAFI 28-03-1966 13-04-1967
124 MR. KHALID JAWED 14-04-1967 15-07-1969
125 MALIK ZAWAR HUSSAIN 16-07-1969 12-06-1971
126 RAJA SALEEM AKHTART.K. 12-06-1971 26-04-1972
127 SYED SARFRAZ HUSSAIN 26-04-1972 05-04-1973
128 CH. IMTIAZ AHMAD SAHI 06-04-1973 25-03-1974
129 MR. MUHAMMAD AFZAL KAHUT 26-03-1974 17-05-1974
130 MALIK ABDUL MAJID 18-05-1974 30-10-1975
140 MR. M. A. LONE 31-10-1975 20-06-1977
141 S. G. BAQIR ALI KHAN 22-07-1977 24-10-1978
142 IMTIAZ MASROR 24-10-1978 04-10-1980
143 MAHMUD-UZ-ZAMAN KHAN 04-10-1980 31-08-1981
144 MR. KAMRAN RASOOL 14-09-1981 20-06-1983
145 FAYYAZ BASHIR 20-06-1983 17-07-1986
146 MR. B.A. FAROOQI OFFG 18-08-1986 29-08-1986
147 MUHAMMAD AYUB MALIK 30-08-1986 05-03-1987
148 MUHAMMAD HAMEDULLAH SHEIKH OFFG 06-03-1987 19-08-1987
149 MUHAMMAD AAMER KHAN 19-08-1987 26-03-1990
150 TARIQ SHAFI CHAK 26-03-1990 30-09-1991
151 ALI TAHIR ZAIDI 30-09-1991 12-10-1992
152 SHAHID ULLAH BAIG 12-10-1992 05-12-1994
153 SALMAN AHMAD 05-12-1994 03-03-1997
154 RIZWAN BASHIR KHAN 07-03-1997 27-05-1998
155 ATHAR HUSSAIN KHAN SIAL 26-06-1998 26-09-1998
156 MIAN MUHAMMAD IJAZ 26-09-1998 07-01-1999
157 ALLAH BUKHSH MALIK 18-02-1999 08-06-1999
158 MUHAMMAD ASHRAF 04-07-1999 17-11-1999
159 CAPTAINR. JAHANZEB KHAN 18-11-1999 12-08-2000
160 AHMAD HUSSAIN 12-08-2000 22-10-2000
161 SAQIB ALEEM 23-10-2000 13-08-2001
DISTRICT COORDINATION OFFICERS MUZAFFARGARH
NAME FROM TO
1 SAJJAD SALEEM HOTIANA 15-08-2001 03-04-2002
2 MUHAMMAD AZAM SALEEM 03-04-2002 12-06-2003
3 SHAMSHER ALI KHAN SIAL 12-06-2003 24-02-2004
4 MUHAMMAD ANIS QURASHI 24-02-2004 22-07-2004
5 CH. MUHAMMAD AZHAR 22-07-2004 18-03-2006
6 TARIQ NAJEEB NAJMI 10-04-2006 18-04-2007
7 AKHTER NAZIR WARAICH 18-04-2007 05-05-2008
8 TARIQ JAVEID MALIK 06-05-2008 31-08-2009
9 MAHMOOD ASLAM 14-09-2009 05-08-2010
10 FARASAT IQBAL 05-08-2010 01-09-2010
11 TAHIR KHURSHID 01-09-2010 02-09-2012
12 MUZAFFAR KHAN SIAL (ADDITIONAL CHARGE)
03-09-2012 26-09-2012
13 ABRAR AHMAD MIRZA 27-09-2012 11-03-2013
14 MALIK MUHAMMAD ASHRAF AWAN 12-03-2013 08-04-2013
15 QAZI ZAFAR IQBAL 08-04-2013 26-06-2013
16 FARASAT IQBAL 26-06-2013 29-03-2014
17 TANVEER IQBAL TABASSUM 29-03-2014 09-04-2014
18 HAFIZ SHAUKAT ALI 09-04-2014 01-01-2017
DEPUTY COMMISSIONERS MUZAFFARGARH
NAME FROM TO
1 HAFIZ SHAUKAT ALI 01-01-2017 26-01-2017
2 MUHAMMAD SAIF ANWAR JAPPA 26-01-2017 21-06-2018
3 KAISER SALEEM 25-06-2018 29-10-2018
4 DR. EHTASHAM ANWAR 31-10-2018 18-10-2019