ISLAMABAD: The continued power struggle and ‘mismanagement’ within the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has reached a new height as senior officials have not only started terminating the services of other employees but also posting blue-eyed boys irrespective of their qualifications.

In view of the situation in MoST and its attached Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology has intervened with its chairman Senator Sardar Shafiq Tareen even accusing the minister for science of being involved in illegal transfers and postings.

Senator Tareen has written a letter, “Illegal and malafide sending of summary for removal of chairman PSF on the piling-up wish of the MoST” dated August 4 to Inamullah Khan, Secretary Establishment Division. He sent the copy to Senate standing committees on planning, national health, narcotics control, water resources as well as the Senate House Committee.

Committee chairman accuses minister of being involved in illegal transfers and postings

The letter said PSF was a federal autonomous statutory body and its chairman was appointed by the president of Pakistan on the basis of scientific eminence.

“It has been brought to my knowledge that the minister for science and technology Agha Hassan Baloch is putting undue pressure on the chairman PSF to comply with his wish list,” Senator Tareen said in the letter.

The letter referred to a summary sent by the minister for science for the removal of Dr Shahid Mehmood Baig, the chairman PSF, to the PM secretariat. The PM office has forwarded the summary to the Establishment Division.

Senator Tareen maintained that the summary was totally illegal and without following the MPI scale policy without giving explanation or notice or initiating disciplinary proceedings against the chairman PSF.

“Being chairman of the Senate standing committee on science, I personally request you to please look into the matter to intervene and pass immediate orders to cease this highly unfair treatment to one of the most productive scientists of international fame,” the letter said.

The summary by the ministry was in reaction to the action initiated by Dr Baig against another officer, Dr Hafeezullah Khan, who has been given four charges within a short span of two months.

Dr Khan was currently working as secretary Pakistan Council for Science and Technology, director science popularisation, director general Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) when he was recently made member science PSF, which triggered the

rift between Dr Baig and the minister MoST.

Sources in the ministry of science said minister Agha Hassan Baloch had directly awarded the look-after charge of member science PSF to Dr Khan bypassing the chairman PSF on July 25.

“But soon after he was appointed as member science, senior officers in the PSF perused the file of Dr Hafeez Khan during which several startling facts were revealed, leading to the termination of the job contract of Dr Khan by the chairman PSF,” said the sources in the ministry.

The three-page termination letter by the PSF said Dr Khan was compulsorily retired from service in 2016 and he lost his case in 2017 and the appeal in 2018 against his termination in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The letter added: “The de-novo inquiry report dated 11-03-2021 concealed and misrepresented all court related judgments of Dr Hafeezullah Khan from the PSF board of trustees (BoT), chairman PSF and the authorised officers.”

It added that the decision by the IHC can only be undone by the Supreme Court, therefore, the de-novo inquiry committee report stands defective.

When contacted, Dr Khan declined to comment on the court decision but said the the chairman PSF was not authorised to withdraw his appointment order of 17-6-2021 as only the PSF BoT can do it.

However, talking to Dawn, Dr Baig said he can make such a decision as per rules in the absence of the PSF board of trustees that expired in May this year.

Minister Agha Hassan Baloch did not respond to phone calls for comments.

The PSF was established under the PSF Act 1973 and it is an autonomous body under the administrative control of MoST.

Published in Dawn, Aug 6th, 2023