THIS is apropos the report regarding Dr Mohammad Umar Baloch (Oct 5), who has been erroneously mentioned as Umer Qadir Baloch. It has only referred to the fact that being the brother of a sitting PML-N MNA, he was being favoured. No mention has been made of the fact that for 11 months he remained OSD but he was hardly ever paid his salary.

If the minister stopped his brother from joining the Emergency Operation Centre due to its meager salary, then why would he get him posted in the Oil and Gas Development Centre at nearly the same salary?

The report also failed to highlight the fact that Dr Altaf Hussain Bosan, a grade-18 officer, had been on leave for two long years from the NIH Islamabad. So was his leave extended or denied after the repatriation of his services to his parent department? In any case, the gap between grade 18 and 21 is too huge to be ignored on account of Dr Baloch’s experience of heading different units.

Dr Baloch is a highly specialised and skilled doctor. His administrative ability should not be insulted by judging him through his brother but through the legacy he left behind as unit head in various capacities, including E.D. of Shaikh Zayed Hospital Quetta, Principal BMC Quetta, HOD Urology JPGM and Unit Executive Director of the JPGMC.

Dr Baloch could easily have used his brother’s influence when he was a serving general posted as DG Rangers or even the Governor of Balochistan. However, he was a man of principles and did not believe in bypassing merit. He only applied now, when he found himself to be eligible for the post.

Dr M. Asif Durrani

Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2014