For the position of DG Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is once again being accused of “ignoring eligible candidates”.
For the position of Director General (DG) Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is once again being accused of “ignoring eligible candidates”.
The ministry has chosen nine applicants out of 98 applicants for an interview that will take place on May 17, but the chosen candidates allegedly “lack” the necessary technical knowledge and experience for the technical post.
Additionally, allegedly because of “political considerations,” candidates with the necessary credentials and experience have either been demoted to the bottom of the list or have not even been shortlisted.
Dr. Shahzad Afzal was one of the top five candidates shortlisted for the most recent round of interviews, but was not. He claims that the PSQCA and MoST violated the PSQCA Act 1996 and the Management Position Scale Policy 2020 of the Establishment Division of the Government of Pakistan.
To ensure justice is done, Dr. Afzal has appealed to the Additional Secretary of the MoST to send him an interview invitation in accordance with the guidelines of the Management Position Scale Policy 2020.
Dr. Afzal claims that he was unfairly left off of the list of candidates for the Director General position at PSQCA, which has resulted in controversy surrounding the appointment of the DG for some time. In Islamabad High Court, the case is also pending (WP 761/2022 and WP 4070/2021, respectively).
The Ministry of Science and Technology has received a reminder letter from Dr. Shahzad Afzal, Director of the System Certification Center at PSQCA, regarding the issuance of an interview call letter for the position of Director General, for which he had applied.
In the letter, Dr. Afzal alleged violations of the PSQCA Act 1996 and the Management Position Scale Policy 2020 of the Establishment Division of the Government of Pakistan by the PSQCA and the Ministry of Science and Technology. No one has ever been chosen and appointed to the position of Director General (DG) PSQCA despite numerous advertisements for the position.
The applicant claims that he was twice given interview call letters for the position of director general, but was removed from the list of shortlisted applicants for the most recent round of interviews.
He claims that he was victimised by the PSQCA and the Ministry of Science and Technology on “political grounds”.
Dr. Afzal has been recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ASTM International, the International Organization for Standardization, and other international standardisation bodies.
He has asked for an interview call letter for the position in his letter to the Additional Secretary of MoST, who serves as the chairperson of the Scrutiny Committee for MP-1 Scale positions.
The ministry announced that nine candidates were chosen from 98 applicants for the position of DG PSQCA advertised on November 27, 2022.
These candidates 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, none of the nine candidates have been approved by any international standardisation organisation.
The position of Director General for PSQCA is equivalent to BPS-22 and was published in 2021 and 2022. Dr. Afzal is a member of ASTM International and has 28 years of experience in the fields of standardisation and conformity assessment.
He has supervised a number of PhD, MSc, and MPhil students and has taken part in standardisation initiatives run by the Technical Committees of the PSQCA, ISO, SARSO, and ASTM Committees E60, D 22, etc.
The MoST’s rejected candidate was additionally chosen in an open election to serve as Director General SARSO, a specialised body of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The MoST should select a representative from the International Organization on Standardization to serve on the selection committee in order to preserve objectivity. The Additional Secretary MoST Usman Akhtar Bajwa did not answer the phone when contacted for comment or respond to messages sent to him via WhatsApp.