PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has ordered removal of the managing director of Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences (Pipos) and ordered an inquiry into alleged corruption through anti-corruption establishment for dismissal of other employees of the institute.

Officials said that the orders were issued by chief minister after approval of provincial cabinet in its last meeting held on September 5. The health department has been tasked to submit the implementation report on top priority basis.

The provincial cabinet also deferred resignation of three members of Board of Management (BoM) of Pipos including chairman of board Prof Mohammad Arif Khan, Dr Rahim Jan Afridi and Sauda Iqbal, who resigned in June.

A letter, sent to Health Secretary Shahidullah Khan by administration department on September 9, said that as per minutes of the 38th cabinet’s meeting, held with Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in the chair, it was decided to relieve the managing director of Pipos of his responsibilities and assign additional charge of the post to a reputable, reliable and efficient officer of health department, possessing a proven track record of integrity and competence.

Inquiry against other employees to be conducted through ACE

Sources said that the cabinet issued directives after getting briefing from health secretary, who informed it that Pipos, an autonomous body of health department, was governed under Pipos Act, 1999, and imparted education and training in the field of orthopaedic technology and other related matters.

Section 5 of the Act, empowers the government to appoint chairman and BoM members of Pipos for three and two years, respectively.

According to secretary, the three members tendered resignation from BoM of Pipos with the request to make alternative arrangement for institutional management. Briefing the cabinet, the secretary said that a summary was initiated for acceptance of resignations and chief minister allowed placement of the summary before the cabinet for consideration.

However, the cabinet deferred the resignations, sources said. The letter addressed to health secretary said that the cabinet also ordered initiation of an inquiry into reported irregularities. It added that any official found involved in corrupt practices should be removed from service immediately.

According to cabinet’s directives, anti-corruption establishment (ACE) may be engaged to probe financial irregularities in the institution. Health department being the implementing body in this case should furnish implementation report of the cabinet decision as required under Rule 25 (2) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Rules of Business, 1985, on top priority basis.

In August, an audit report found financial and administrative irregularities in Pipos by internal auditors of health department, recommending action against the responsible officials.

The 94-page audit report said that more than Rs300 million was embezzled from 2021 to 2024 in Pipos. The institute was fraught with massive irregularities, which required action, it added.

The report said that the tenure of its managing director completed on February 14, 2025, but the process to hire his successor was not initiated after five months and he continued on the post on acting charge basis. It named officials with the quantum of money they had siphoned off, sources said.

They said that other senior officials were also involved in corruption according to the audit report. “However, there is no action against those held guilty in the report so far due to which the chief minister wants to remove corrupt officials as soon as possible,” they added.

The managing director of Pipos, Liaquat Ali Malik, told this scribe that decision regarding his removal lied with BoM and three of its seven members had resigned. “There is no corruption on my part,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2025