ISLAMABAD, March 14: Princess Diana’s Mr Wonderful, Dr Hasnat Khan, has ‘impressed’ some decision makers here who are trying to find a job for him in the soon-to-be set-up cardiac centre in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Dawn has learned.

Dr Khan, 48, has been lately working in Malaysia after having served in various UK hospitals for quite some time. In one such hospital he had met Princess Diana and fallen in love with her.

The cardiac surgeon, who was recommended by Princess Diana for a job in Dr Christiaan Baarnard’s heart institute in Cape Town in South Africa, is said to be interested in the position of project director of the cardiac centre in PIMS, a post which is meant for a civil engineer.

The recommendations were ‘strong’ and the prime minister sought a report on the issue.

Because of his inability to meet the criteria for the post, he is now looking for the job of a consultant with a salary in the management scale 1 (MP-1), which no cardiac surgeon even with higher qualifications is getting at PIMS.

“Almost everyone who matters in Islamabad has endorsed him to the health ministry,” a source said.

However, health ministry officials are insisting that the position should be advertised and filled on merit.

One of the country’s leading cardiologists said that Dr Khan was a medical graduate of 1983, but could not progress beyond a senior registrar in the UK.

According to him, a UK national who did not go beyond the position of senior registrar in 7-8 years would be not considered a top specialist.

The cardiac centre at PIMS is still under construction and the Rs1.2 billion project is not expected to be completed before June 2009. Therefore, in the opinion of some experts, hiring a consultant a year and a half before the centre becomes operational may raise many an eyebrow.

Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh, one of Mr Khan’s leading recommenders, said: “If I were to be asked, I would definitely recommend him because he is a renowned surgeon.”