ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Science and Technology has decided to shift the headquarters of Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to Islamabad from Karachi in a bid to reorganise it and improve its performance.

The ministry has also decided to outsource all the laboratories of PSQCA because the authority has failed to maintain their operational licences from the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC).

Sources in the ministry said at a recent meeting chaired by Senator Shibli Faraz, minister for science and technology, it was noted that PSQCA needed a major overhaul.

It was observed that there were numerous complaints and issues related to corruption, irregularities and poor performance in PSQCA but it was becoming an uphill task to mend all the issues, said an official.

PSQCA is an attached department of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“Eventually, it has been decided to make serious decisions to transform the whole organisation,” the official said.

Among the major issues was that most of the PSQCA labs were non-functional. Seven out of the nine labs and technical offices of PSQCA do not have valid operating licences.

This was because their operating licences have been suspended by PNAC for almost two years for not fulfilling prescribed formalities.

Senator Faraz soon after taking charge as minister for science and technology had announced that the labs would be reaccredited soon.

PSQCA has the mandate to enforce and implement quality and environmental management systems (ISO:9001-2000 and ISO:14000) and assist local industries to obtain certifications for these.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2021