ISLAMABAD: The prime minister has taken notice of vacant posts and inappropriate appointments in the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) and sought an explanation from the health secretary.

A letter from Additional Secretary Mohammad Ali Shahzada, which is available with Dawn, stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan has been very categorical in passing repeated instructions in various cabinet meetings that sustainable regular institutional heads should be appointed on priority whenever needed. However, it has been noted with concern that a number of important posts under the ministry are presently vacant, it said.

“The PM has taken a serious note of the above and directed that the Establishment Division shall seek explanation of secretary NHS as to why formal disciplinary action should not be initiated against the secretary [Zahid Saeed] on the following accounts,” the letter read.

The letter also asked why the position of NHS director general could not be filled on a regular basis along with other vacant positions, despite the fact that appointment rules have already been notified by the ministry concerned.

It asked why the position of Health Services Academy (HSA) executive director could not be filled despite the approval of the HSA Employees (Service) Rules 2009, and how charge of the office could be retained on a “look after basis” since then.

Letter said Mr Khan has also directed an inquiry into the service status of Dr Asad Hafeez in the context of the ministry’s director general and the HSA executive director with regard to its lawfulness and appropriateness and fix responsibility for any inappropriateness within a month.

A senior NHS ministry bureaucrat who asked not to be named said that there have not been any violations in the ministry and a proper response would be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office soon.

“The senior-most post in HSA was of a director and Dr Asad Hafeez was working as HSA director since the early 2000s. However, in May 2018 the HSA was converted into a degree awarding institution through the HSA Restructuring Act, which was passed by the parliament, so a vice chancellor had to be appointed,” he said.

“In section 42 of the act it is mentioned that a search committee would appoint the vice chancellor, but the same act said that the first ever vice chancellor would be nominated by the president, as chancellor, for three years and the second vice chancellor would be appointed through the search committee.

“Last year, the ministry moved a summary to the presidency through the Prime Minister’s Office for the appointment of the vice chancellor and it was proposed that Dr Asad Hafeez should be nominated as vice chancellor,” he said.

“However, the summary was returned with the suggestion to send a panel of candidates so the names of Dr Hafeez, Brig Aamer Ikram and Dr Atif Rehman were sent to the presidency. That summary was also rejected and the ministry was advised to move a fresh panel, which will be sent soon,” he added.

When asked why Dr Hafeez was given charge of the office of NHS director general, the bureaucrat explained that the Ministry of Health was abolished in 2011 after the 18th Amendment and was created again in 2013. Its rules had to be made, so Dr Hafeez, a BPS-20 officer, was appointed director general as the post of director general was created.

“The recruitment rules of the Ministry of NHS were finalised in October 2018, due to which according to the rules a seniority list of BPS-20 officers was circulated so officers would file objections. But in the meantime, the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division was abolished so we got 19 more BPS-20 officers. After that, a new seniority list was made and circulated as it is required by law,” he said.

The officer said the post of director general would be filled by the Central Selection Board and the process would begin after the finalisation of the seniority list of BPS-20 officers.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2019