SZABMU gets permanent VC after two years

Islamabad:After a gap of almost two years, the government has appointed Federal Medical and Dental College principal and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Professor of Surgery Dr Tanwir Khaliq the second permanent vice-chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University.

Though the top slot of the first and only public sector medical university in the capital fell vacant in January 2018 after Prof Javed quit on completing the four-year stint, lacunas in legislation delayed the formation of the VC search committee.

Since the university had no pro-VC, a deputy to the VC, it saw ad-hocism at the top with the president tasking one senior PIMS officer after another with temporarily holding the VC’s office.

The national health services and coordination ministry, which oversees the SZABMU, on Friday notified Professor Tanwir Khaliq as the university's new permanent vice-chancellor with an immediate effect in line with the cabinet's decision and the president's approval.

Among the other contenders recommended by the search committee were Safe Blood Transfusion Programme Project Director and SZABMU Professor of Pathology Dr Hasan Abbas Zaheer and Rawalpindi Medical University Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Gastroenterology Dr Muhammad Umar.