THIS is apropos of the news item ‘IT fund chief may step down’ (April 6). After having successfully smothered the Higher Education Commission for a different reason, people are all set to wrap up the National ICT R and D Fund.

This institution is the last hope for many fund-starved academic institutions of higher learning to do socially relevant and meaningful research.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the ICT R and D’s thoroughly professional, methodical, extremely intuitive and transparent approach of the evaluation of highly technical research proposals. They are currently funding research projects to the tune of about Rs1.3 billion. All details are available on their website to ensure transparency.

They are conspicuously and propitiously incongruous with many other institutions of Pakistan and that is probably why they need to be tamed and trained to behave like a true Pakistani institution.

After a botched attempt earlier to plunder the funds by putting their crony as head of this institution, people this time are manoeuvring and distorting rules to agonise and frustrate ICT R and D’s current and highly educated and competent CEO.

I request the prime minister, the president, and the chief justice to please intervene in this matter of national interest and let ICT R and D serve the nation as a confident and an independent institution, maintaining transparency and impartiality.

M. MOHIUDDIN Karachi