- Ministry shortlists nine candidates out of 98 candidates for interview being held on Wednesday (tomorrow)
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is once again facing accusations of “ignoring eligible candidates” for the position of Director General Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).
Though the ministry has shortlisted nine candidates out of 98 applicants for interview scheduled to be held on May 17 (tomorrow), the shortlisted candidates allegedly “lack” the requisite technical expertise and experience for the technical post. Furthermore, candidates with relevant qualifications and experience have either been pushed to the bottom of the list or not shortlisted at all, allegedly due to “political considerations.”
Dr. Shahzad Afzal, who was among the top five candidates shortlisted in the previous interview held last year, has not been shortlisted this time without citing any reason. He has accused the PSQCA and the MoST of violating the Management Position Scale Policy 2020 of the Establishment Division of the Government of Pakistan, as well as the PSQCA Act 1996, by not including him in the shortlisted candidates for the latest round of interviews. Dr Afzal, who has international recognition in the field of standardization and conformity assessment, has appealed to the Additional Secretary of the MoST to issue an interview call letter to him as per the provisions of the Management Position Scale Policy 2020, to ensure justice is served.
The appointment of the Director General of PSQCA has been mired in controversy for some time now, with Dr Afzal alleging that he has been unfairly left out of the shortlisted candidates for the DG post. The matter is also sub-judice in Islamabad High Court (WP 761/2022 and WP 4070/2021, respectively).
Dr Shahzad Afzal, who is Director of the System Certification Center at PSQCA, has written a reminder to the Ministry of Science and Technology regarding the issuance of an interview call letter for the position of Director General, against which he had applied.
As per the letter, a copy of which is available with this scribe, Dr Afzal has accused the PSQCA and the Ministry of Science and Technology of violating the Management Position Scale Policy 2020 of the Establishment Division of the Government of Pakistan, as well as the PSQCA Act 1996. The position of Director General has been advertised multiple times, but no candidate has been selected and appointed to the position.
The candidate has claimed that he had been issued interview call letters twice, in December 2021 and October 2022, for the position of Director General, but was dropped from the list of shortlisted candidates for the latest round of interviews tentatively scheduled for 17th May, 2023. Dr Afzal alleged that he had been victimized by the PSQCA and the Ministry of Science and Technology on “political grounds”, despite being the most “qualified candidate” for the position.
Dr. Afzal’s international recognition in the field of standardization and conformity assessment has been recognized by various international standardization bodies such as ASTM International, USA, National Institute of Standards and Technology USA, and the International Organization for Standardization, Switzerland.
Dr Afzal, in his latest letter to the Additional Secretary of MoST, who, as per the rule, is the chairperson of the Scrutiny Committee for MP-1 Scale positions, has requested that he be issued an interview call letter for the position.
Meanwhile, as per documents available with this scribe, the ministry claims that a scrutiny committee during its meeting held on April 13, 2023 has shortlisted nine candidates out of 98 applicants who had applied for the post of DG advertised on November 27, 2022 on the basis of eligibility criteria. Those shortlisted by the ministry included: Eng Muhammad Amin Khan, Asif Raza, Muhammad Zahoor, Akhtar Ahmed Boghio, Syed Azhar Kazmi, Wing Commander (r) Rehab Pervaiz, Dr Naseem Rouf, Eng Nadir Ali Balouch and Engr. Muhammad Sulaiman.
However, insiders claim, none of the shortlisted nine candidates is recognized by any International Standardization body in the field of Standardization.
According to the MP-1 Scale Policy, the post of Director General for PSQCA is equivalent to BPS-22, and it has been published without any changes in 2021 and 2022.
As per available documents Dr Afzal, who has 28 years of diversified international experience in the field of Standardization and Conformity assessment, is a member of the standard body of USA, the ASTM international. He has supervised a large number of PhD, MSc, and MPhil students regarding Quality Management. He has participated in standardization activities of PSQCA’s Technical Committees, ISO TCs, South Asian Regional Standardization (SARSO), and in ASTM Committees of E60, D 22, etc.
Interestingly, the candidate rejected by MoST, has also been selected through open competition as Director General SARSO, Specialized Body of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), but his appointment letter is pending for want of concurrence of a member country of SAARC, India.
According to experts, to maintain impartiality, the MoST should opt for a member in the selection committee from the International Organization on Standardization. The same procedure is also adopted in the developed world to select the head of the National Standards Body in an impartial way.
When contacted for comments on the issue, the Additional Secretary MoST Usman Akhtar Bajwa did not attend the telephone. He also did reply to queries shared with him via WhatsApp.
