ISLAMABAD: The capital’s largest public-sector hospital –Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) – on Monday got a permanent head after six years as the federal government appointed Professor Dr Rana Imran Sikander as its executive director.

The appointment follows a Supreme Court (SC) verdict in February this year allowing clinicians and faculty members to hold the post in BS-21 (Basic Scale-21).

Dr Sikander may hold the post for almost six years as he will reach the age of superannuation in 2031.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Sikander hinted at some of his future plans, stating that the hospital was facing a severe issue of human resources as hundreds of positions have been lying vacant in different departments.

In some departments, he said, one official had been performing the duties of four officials.

“I will try to address all the issues of the hospital so that the patients could get the best possible treatment,” said Dr Sikander.

He said there were only two posts of admin cadre whereas 48 posts of clinicians in BS-20 in Pims.

The hospital had been run under temporary arrangements since 2019 when the last permanent head Dr Amjad was transferred to another institution.

Later, the appointment of a permanent head faced a delay due to several legal challenges and disputes over the appointment process.

Initially, a cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik had been given the acting charge of Pims, but he had to face litigation over his nomination.

In the past six years, several attempts were made to appoint a permanent head, but the process came to a halt due to filing of a number of applications in Federal Service Tribunal (FST) as well as the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The health ministry had moved a summary for the appointment of Dr Sikander, a few years back, but it could not be implemented when Dr Ayesha Isani and Dr Mutahir Shah challenged Dr Sikander’s seniority before the court.

Another doctor at Pims Iqbal Durrani approached the FST and the IHC, claiming that only officers of the management cadre should be appointed as head of the hospital.

The issue finally reached the Supreme Court where the court decided that clinicians and faculty members could be appointed as head of the hospital.

Dr Muhammad Saifur Rehman, a doctor in Pims, who had also filed a petition in the IHC seeking the appointment of permanent head, while talking to Dawn, welcomed the SC verdict, stating that he was glad that a permanent head had now been appointed.

“I believe that the new ED will address and streamline all the issues of the hospital,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025