After joining contract job: Govt officer asked to resign from parent dept

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has directed the director general of the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) to resign from his post or from his parent department, the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

In a letter, a copy of which is available with The News, written to Akhtar A. Bughio, the ministry said that the competent authority has taken serious notice of non-compliance of the condition mentioned in the advertisement published on Nov 10, 2019 that “if any officer of BS-19 or below is selected he/she will have to resign from his his/her service before joining the post of director general (BS-21), Pakistan Halal Authority, Islamabad.”

The letter said that Bughio was well aware of the condition of resignation given in the advertisement and on the same condition he was selected by the federal government on contract basis for a period of three years against the post of the PHC director general in grade 21. It said that in view of the condition, he has now been directed to submit his resignation either from previous service of PSQCA or as the PHA director general on top priority basis.

Bughio was working in grade 19 in the PSQCA while the post of the PHA director general is of grade 21. The MoSt has already sought the opinion of the establishment on the subject. Both the PHA and PSQCA fall in the domain of the MoST.

According to official documents, Bughio wants to keep his lien with his parent organization and had got the requisite permission from the PSQCA but the MoST has not accepted it. When the post of the PHA director general was advertised, he applied for it, was interviewed along with another candidate of the establishment division, and selected, but did not fulfill the condition of quitting the previous organization.

The MoSt has written different letters to Bughio asking him to fulfill the condition. The official has been replying to the correspondence and had produced to the MoST the PSQCA’s permission relating to lien. A MoST spokesman confirmed to The News the veracity of the latest letter written to Bugio.