Pakistan(National Times)- LONDON: The federal government has appointed British-Pakistani Mohammed Afzaal Bhatti as a Managing Director (MD) of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) for three years. The appointment was made after the approval of the federal cabinet, said the notification from the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. According to the notification issued: “In Pursuance of Federal Cabinet’s approval in case No. 29/Rule 19/ 2025/66 dated 23rd January 2025 read with Rule 5(2) of Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance rule) 2013 Mr. Muhammed Afzaal Bhatti is appointed as Managing Director, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation for a period not exceeding three years from the date of appointment as provided in Section 187(1) of Companies Act, 2017.” A professional chartered accountant, Bhatti has been working with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for nearly two decades as one of his most trusted confidantes and assistants. He started as a personal secretary of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and political secretary of Shehbaz during the time when Sharifs were exiled — to Saudi and then London — during Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorship During PML-N’s government that ended in 2018, Bhatti was targeted viciously by then-chief justice (retired) Saqib Nisar. Bhatti, at that time, was serving as the commissioner of the Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission. Nisar, acting on a suo moto, ordered that a reference be filed against Bhatti for being a British citizen. His name was added to the Exit Control List (ECL) and Nab also filed a reference against him. He had left Pakistan for London after his name was removed from the list and the NAB inquiry found no evidence of corruption by him.