ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has reversed promotion of its 240 employees earlier identified as top performers by withdrawing its recent order on the direction of Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.

The office order, which was issued on January 25 only to be cancelled four days later, stated: “Chairman Nadra is pleased to promote 240 employees (who were top performers of NIS in Promotion Board 2018) to next grade along with salary fixation and 2 increments w.e.f. 1st July, 2021 in recognition of their efforts (except those who were awarded any penalty related to promotion).”

The interior minister told Dawn that the promotion orders had been withdrawn on his direction, because it was ‘inappropriate’ for the chairman to take such a decision towards the end of his three-year term expiring on Feb 8.

Asked as to who will be the next chairman of Nadra, the minister said the next chairman would be appointed through a merit-based process. He said the senior most officer of the authority would get acting charge of the post during the process for selection of the new chairman.

He said an advertisement would shortly be published inviting applications for the position of Nadra chairman. After procedural formalities, three names would be sent to the federal cabinet which would finalise one of them.

The minister referred to Section 3(7) of the Nadra Ordinance which reads, “Chairman shall be an eminent professional of known integrity and competence with substantial experience in the field of computer science, engineering, statistics, demography, law, business, management, finance, accounting, economics, civil or military administration, or the field of registration.”

In a related development, the promotion board for senior officers of Nadra had also been deferred, informed sources told Dawn.

They said the promotion board, which was due in July 2020, was delayed initially due to stay orders by the courts of law and then again was put off until the appointment of a new chairman.

The sources said the decision to defer promotion board had been taken as the interior minister saw promotions given close to expiry of a department’s head as a favour and wanted it to be done after the new comer assumed responsibility.

They said the outgoing chairman had tried to convince the minister that promotion of 240 employees was under a decision of performance-based benefits to the workforce, but the timing had made the decision ‘controversial’.

The sources said former Nadra chairman Tariq Malik, who had resigned after developing differences with then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and incumbent chairman Usman Yusuf Mobin, who is serving for the second consecutive term were most likely to be the hot contenders for the post.

Mr Malik is currently Chief Technical Adviser of the United Nation’s Development Programme, and was recently on a visit to Pakistan to support the country in its agenda for digital transformation.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2021