Bank of Khyber managing director: Selection panel finalises candidates, but dissenting note delays decision

PESHAWAR: The names of three final candidates have been sent by the selection panel to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for appointment of the new managing director of the Bank of Khyber (BoK), but a dissenting note reportedly penned by a panel member could delay decision-making.

It was learnt that Saiful Islam, who is from Punjab and has served in the Askari and Allied banks, is on top of the list. Muhammad Shahab Khattak, another senior banker, was placed second and Muhammad Shahbaz Jameel, acting managing director of the Bank of Khyber, was in the third spot. The three names were sent to Chief Minister for making the final decision.

The position of the Bank of Khyber’s managing director has been vacant for the past four months when Shamsul Qayyum’s tenure ended in October 2017 in a controversial manner.

The government had terminated Shamsul Qayyum’s services after became involved in a tussle with provincial Finance Minister Muzaffar Sayyid. However, he was allowed to serve for the last few months of his contractual period. Muhammad Shahbaz Jameel, who is already employed in the bank in a senior executive position, was given acting charge as managing director.

The selection panel was headed by Mohammad Azam Khan, chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Other serving government officials who were its members included the Additional Chief Secretary Shahzad Bangash, Secretary Finance, and Senior Member Board of Revenue. Retired Secretary Finance Ziaur Rahman was also a member of the selection panel. The lone member from the private sector was senior banker Shahryar Ahmad, who is member of the Bank of Khyber’s Board of Directors and has served as president of the Askari Bank and also headed the Pak-Kuwait Holding Company.

As it turned out, Shahryar Ahmed reportedly wrote a dissenting note as he disagreed with the other members of the selection panel who selected Saiful Islam as the top contender for the managing director’s job and added the names of Muhammad Shahab Khattak and Muhammad Shahbaz Jameel in the list of three sent to the chief minister.

Earlier, seven out of the eight shortlisted candidates had appeared for the interview before the selection panel. The seven who were interviewed were Saiful Islam, Muhammad Shahab Khattak, Muhammad Shahbaz Jameel, two former senior executives of the Bank of Khyber Qazi Muniru Haq and Amjad Ali Arbab, Sher Afsar Khan and Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti.

It was learnt that efforts are being made to persuade Shahryar Ahmad to withdraw his dissenting note so that the selection panel could unanimously select the new managing director of the bank. However, these efforts haven’t succeeded yet. His views carry weight as he is the only professional banker who was a member of the selection panel.

It isn’t clear if the issue would be resolved without taking it to the Board of Directors of the bank or by re-advertizing the post of managing director.

The issue has to be resolved at the earliest as the Bank of Khyber is primarily owned by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and was established to serve the province. More than 65 percent of the total deposits in the bank are public sector funds.