KARACHI: Less than two weeks before the commencement of intermediate exams in the metropolis, the Sindh government on Friday replaced the secretary and controller of examination of the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) with two officials who are brought here from Mirpurkhas and Larkana boards.

According to a notification issued by the universities and boards department, the controlling authority posted Muhammad Imran Chishti as BIEK secretary with immediate effect till the appointment of a regular incumbent.

Mr Chishti was a former controller of examination of BIEK and among many officers who were charge-sheeted by the Anti-Corruption Establishment a couple of years ago in a case pertaining to malpractices, illegal appointments and misappropriation of millions of rupees.

Court record said he was appointed in 1987 as a junior clerk at the Anglo Urdu Government Boys Secondary School Baldia Town and later, in 2005, he was transferred to the Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education, Mirpurkhas. He was absorbed there and then posted to BIEK. After the Supreme Court’s decision against such inductions, abosorptions and out-of-turn promotions, he was repatriated from Karachi board to the Mirpurkhas board in 2017, where he was working as deputy secretary in BS-18 until recently.

On Friday, the Sindh government issued a notification through which it withdrew as ab-initio (unlawful from very beginning) the notification issued in 2017 about Mr Chishti.

Sources in the universities and boards department told Dawn that Mr Chishti was brought to BIEK as secretary despite serious reservations of the Sindh chief secretary as well as senior officials of the department who believed that the withdrawal of the notification issued in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court was tantamount to contempt of court.

They said that a senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan was instrumental in bringing Mr Chishti back to BIEK as he personally requested the chief minister and universities and boards minister in this regard.

Also on Friday, the Sindh government appointed Zaheeruddin Bhutto, the deputy Controller of the Board of Secondary Education Larkana, as acting controller of examination of BIEK.

According to a notification, Mr Bhutto was transferred and posted as acting controller as a “stop-gap arrangement” with immediate effect.

“The fresh postings around 10 days before the start of intermediate exams put a question mark over government’s seriousness in the smooth conduct of such mega exercise for students. Chief minister and senior PPP leaders should investigate as to why these controversial postings had been made and on whose recommendations,” a government source said.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023