PESHAWAR: A dispute over the tenure of the acting chief executive officer of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade has further complicated issues at the organisation already working without the vice chairman for several months.

Head of the BOIT’s human resources committee Iskandar Mohammad Khan and provincial industries department are at odds over Nazir Ahmad Awan’s term in office.

Things at the BOIT formed to promote trade and investment activities in the province are uncertain as in July last year, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had ordered the merger of the BOIT with the KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company (EZDMC).

Board’s committee, industries dept at odds on the matter

The directive coincided with the resignation of BOIT vice-chairman and PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz.

Interestingly, the row involving the CEO, HR committee and industries department has been brewing for quite long.

The documents available with Dawn show that the provincial industries department on May 13, 2016, notified the establishment of BOIT’s five members HR committee, which was headed by industrialist Iskandar Mohammad Khan.

The committee was tasked with making recommendations for the board’s approval for appointments and promotions of BOIT employees, determination of terms and conditions of their employment and salary packages, and overseeing of the implementation of board’s decisions.

Mr. Awan informed the HR committee’s meeting on Nov 25, 2016, that his three years tenure completed and requested three months extension as consultant.

The committee chairman’s letter to the principal secretary to the chief minister on January 11, 2017, notes that the committee raised objections to the extension of Mr. Awan as consultant at a stage when the BOIT rules and regulations were being framed.

It said Mr. Awan was further informed that as he had crossed the upper age limit even his current contract couldn’t be extended due to the government’s restrictions on age.

On Nov 28, the HR committee wrote a letter to Mr. Awan telling him that its members have unanimously decided not to extend his contractual appointment beyond Nov 6 as he has crossed the upper age limit set by the law.

“You are therefore advised to hand over the charge of your assignment to Mr. Mohsin Rahim Khan, member of the KP-BOIT and relinquish the charge on or before Nov 28, 2016,” it said.

However, the committee’s bid to oust Mr. Awan did not sit well with the provincial industries department, which fired back saying the committee’s role was only of the advisory nature and that it could not sack people.

The industries department also revised the notification detailing the ToRs of the HR committee by clipping its powers.

The Chief Minister’s Secretariat in a directive issued on Jan 27, 2017, directed the industries secretary to relive Mr. Awan immediately and to recover three salaries he drew in the absence of any authority.

However, the directive still awaited compliance.

When contacted, industries secretary Farah Hamid said there was a HR committee in the BOIT, which was a recommendatory body, and that it had made the recommendation by going beyond its mandate.

She said the committee could only make recommendations to the board but they told Mr. Awan that his tenure was over.

“This is not the committee’s domain.”

Ms Hamid said the chief minister had approved a note moved by her office asking to place the matter before the BOIT’s board.

“The create clarity between two conflicting decisions, wherein one pertained to take this issue to the board, while the other sacking Mr. Awan, the department moved a note to chief minister,” she said, adding that now the chief minister had ordered the placing of the issue on the board’s agenda for discussion.

She accused the HR committee’s chairman of getting personal with Mr. Awan and said the department would not allow that to happen.

A source told Dawn that the board’s meeting was scheduled to take place three week ago but was postponed due to the engagement of the chief minister.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2017