Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
A legislative body of Upper House of parliament on Tuesday was informed that appointments in Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has been scrapped the ongoing process due to committee suspicions.
New posts in the department will be announced after analyzing the required workforce of PSQCA, said Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Ali Raza Bhutta while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology. The committee held its meeting today at parliament house while Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen in Chair.
The committee recommended the ministry to continue recruitment after addressing all the lacunas.
Furthermore, the committee was briefed on the pending promotions in all departments, especially PSQCA, and the reasons for the delay. Secretary for MoST, Ali Raza Bhutta, mentioned that promotions were pending due to the absence of a regular Director General and inter-departmental disputes in PSQCA. However, the ministry has directed PSQCA to expedite the pending promotion cases.
The Senate Committee unanimously passed the bill titled “The Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2023.” Senator Shahadat Awan, the mover of the bill, stated that the aim is to maintain Parliamentary oversight over the Council by making it mandatory for the Council to submit an annual report to Parliament.
While discussing the implementation status of recommendations, the Secretary for MoST stated that the ministry has complied with the committee recommendations, and its report has been submitted before the committee.
The committee was briefed on the terms, conditions, and tenure of the existing DG Pakistan Hilal Authority. Secretary MoST informed that the current DG, Akhtar Ahmed Bughio, was appointed on April 10, 2023, for a term of three years, and its period was extended in May 2023 for further three years, entitled to all perks and privileges of Grade 21 of Civil services.
Moreover, the Senate body deliberated on the recovery of Rs. 2.5 million in unjustified benefits from DG PHA. DG PSQCA stated that the initial inquiry suggests that money was transferred without following prescribed rules. However, a detailed report will be submitted to the committee upon the conclusion of the investigation.
In addition, the committee discussed the inquiry conducted on the illegal appointment of Ali Bux Soomro and Khalid Ahmad Bulbani in PSQCA. DG PSQCA informed that, according to PSQCA records, no inquiry has been conducted against the mentioned individuals, and they were recruited following all the required procedures.
