Four trade officers abroad: Prime Minister formally approves appointment
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
ISLAMABAD (September 14 2009): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has formally approved the appointment of four trade officers abroad whom he had reportedly recommended in defiance of his own rhetorical exhortation to ministries and departments to make appointments on merit, sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday.

The lucky candidates are: Ayesha Saeed, Shahryar Talpur and Nadia Rehman from the private sector and Fawad Ali Shah from the public sector. Sources said that Shahryar Talpur has been appointed in Santiago (Chile), Nadia Rehman in Prague (Czech Republic), Fawad Ali Shah in Port Louis (Mauritius), and Ayesha Saeed in Brussels (Belgium).

These appointments, according to Commerce Ministry's Commerce and Trade Group, are highly controversial and are likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Commerce and Trade Group has already completed its homework, preparatory to seeking justice from the apex court.

Prime Minister's Secretariat, during the second week of May, wrote a letter to the Commerce Ministry, stating that as the Commerce Ministry begins the selection process for four new locations, the names of the following candidates should be given priority: Ayesha Saeed, Shahryar Talpur, Yasir Ishaque Lashari, and Fauzia Abbasi from the private sector, and Fawad Ali Shah from the public sector.

Sources said the influence of Prime Minister's Secretariat in these appointments can be gauged from the fact that the candidates were given a unique written test, in which only three candidates namely Ayesha Saeed, (Punjab), Shahryar Talpur (Sindh) and Yasir Ishaque Lashari (Sindh) appeared to fill the four posts. Subsequently, all three were declared 'qualified' for the interview, which was conducted on June 24, 2009. To 'mix up' the proceedings, the Ministry of Commerce also invited 13 candidates of BS 18, who had secured more than 70 percent marks in the written test, conducted by LUMS for the fourth post.

However, the Commerce Ministry had to scrap the entire process, following media reports. Pitad (Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development) was asked to conduct another test in July 2009, in which only one candidate, Marwat, was invited, and cleared, for the interview. According to Secretary, Commerce, he was not up to the mark.

Commerce Minister Amin Fahim was the chairman of the selection board; members of the board included Secretary, Foreign Affairs; Secretary, Establishment; Secretary, Commerce; Chief Executive of TDAP (co-opted member); Secretary, Investment (co-opted member); and Secretary, Textile Industry (co-opted member).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009