ISLAMABAD, April 2: The newly-appointed chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission, Lt-Gen (retired) Shahid Hamid, is awaiting announcement of a date from the presidency for oath- taking. The general, who had been appointed on March 30, to replace the outgoing chairman, Lt-Gen (retired) Jamshaid Gulzar Kiani, has assumed the charge, but hasn’t started working as yet.

Gen Kiani had to retire pre-maturely because of strained relations with the government, which had then moved to cut short his term by two-and-a-half year by introducing an ordinance.

The new chairman has been given a tenure of three years.

FPSC sources said the working relationship between the government and the commission would be restored once the new chairman started working. Things had come to a standstill because of the confrontation between Gen Kiani and the government.

Gen Kiani, a day before his retirement, had told a press conference that the FPSC-government row had become a personalized affair though he had pleaded President Musharraf not to drag the commission into a controversy.

The ties had become so tense that the president had not even approved the annual report of the commission for year 2004. It is claimed that the report is being held back because it spoke of merit violations by the government in extending contracts of some officials. The other fall-out of this confrontation was the delay in the holding of Central Selection Board meeting. Gen Kiani did not preside over any meeting of the CSB after the cut in his term. The immediate task before the new chairman would be to hold the CSB meeting.

The induction of new members against the six vacancies of the commission is one other thing that is expected to happen once the new chairman starts working.

The government had not been making appointments against the vacancies following its confrontation with Gen Kiani, thereby impeding the working of the commission, particularly the recruitment process.