Dr Asif selected as chairman BoG Ayub Medical College

PESHAWAR: The members of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, unanimously selected noted cardiovascular surgeon and former commandant of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Major General (R) Dr Asif Ali Khan as chairman of the board.

The BoG meeting was called at Banigala, the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in Islamabad, though most of the members opposed this idea and suggested holding the meeting in Abbottabad or at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.

It was widely believed that holding the meeting in Banigala was to appoint Dr Asim Yousaf as chairman of the board. Dr Asim Yousaf is working as chief medical officer at Shaukat Khanum Cancer Memorial Hospital in Lahore.

According to members of the board, Dr Asim Yousaf made an effort to become chairman of the board but majority of members didn't support him. "The board members offered the responsibility to Maj Gen (R) Asif Ali Khan as he better understands how to run a medical and teaching institute and improve services," said a board member.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had recently fired the three BoG members. Mohammad Javed Panni, chairman of the board, Brig (R) Khalid Hussain and Col (R) Salahuddin were removed without assigning any reason. Sources told The News that the government was not satisfied with their performance and held them responsible for 'inefficiency, poor performance and violation of merit.'

The government faced criticism for sparing other members of the board, including Dr Asim Yousaf, Najeeb Abbasi, Gen (R) Asif Ali Khan and Tariq Khan, who were equally involved in all the decisions.

The government later appointed Amir Mahmood, chief financial officer of Shaheen Air International Ltd, Junaid Mushtaq Qureshi, MBA, chief finance officer/director (Finance and Accounts), and Ahmad Siraj, a chartered accountant, as new members of the BoG.

When reached on phone, Maj Gen (R) Asif Ali Khan who belongs to Abbottabad confirmed his appointment as chairman and said he had already set his priorities for making Ayub Medical College as the best learning centre and improving quality of services at the Ayub Teaching Hospital.

"We are at the stage of life where I wanted to contribute as much as I can do for betterment of the people. Being son of the soil, it will be my happiness if I can be of any help for them," remarked the retired cardiac surgeon.

He said though they have little time they would ensure implementation of MTI Act 2015 in true letter and spirit. He said he would ensure transparency in all major decisions including promotions and appointments.

"Though there are numerous challenges, I believe in merit and will strictly follow merit whatever humanly is possible. In my service in the armed forces, I served with dedication and will never allow any political interference in our work and show you how the system is improved," he said.

Maj Gen Asif said he had already made it clear to other BoG members that he would discourage favouritism and despotism in selections and appointments whether they needed hiring class-IV employees or faculty members.

"There will be zero tolerance to corruption and corrupt people in our set-up. We will be there to listen to each and every member of the community, resolve all their genuine issues and provide them a better system and friendly environment to deliver services," he explained.