ISLAMABAD: The Federal Service Tribunal (FST), while issuing contempt notices to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), has directed the hospital management, seeking explanation for failing to implement its order to appoint the director finance through promotion.

The explanation must be submitted three days before the next hearing, scheduled for August 27.

On the other hand, another attempt by Pims to retain the current director finance by upgrading the post to director general finance has been rejected by the Establishment Division.

According to documents available with Dawn, in 2017, Umar Bilal of the Finance Department went on a course, during which the Pims administration requested the Auditor General of Pakistan to send an official to handle the hospital’s financial matters.

Advocate Supreme Court Afnan Kundi, while speaking to Dawn, said that after completing the course, Umar Bilal approached the FST and argued that the post should be filled through promotion.

The tribunal ruled in his favour. Pims later approached the Supreme Court against the decision, but the apex court dismissed the appeal, observing that the right of promotion cannot be denied.

Subsequently, Mr Bilal filed a contempt application in the FST.

“On Thursday, a hearing was scheduled regarding the contempt application. Surprisingly, representatives of Pims and the Auditor General of Pakistan appeared and claimed they were unaware of the contempt notices, as they had not received them. The FST directed them to submit a report three days before the next hearing,” he said.

“We are unaware why the Pims administration wants to retain the incumbent director finance instead of filling the post through promotion,” Advocate Kundi questioned.

Meanwhile, Pims has submitted two requests to the Establishment Division to retain the existing director finance by upgrading the position from BPS-19 to BPS-20. This is despite the fact that the incumbent officer has already been promoted to BPS-20 as the Controller of Military Accounts at Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT), and has joined that post.

Mr Kundi added that the Pims administration also attempted to bring in another officer on deputation, but later realised that it was against the rules.

A document available with Dawn shows that Mian Iftikhar, an officer of the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, was appointed for three years on July 28 but was unable to continue at the hospital.

Meanwhile, another attempt by Pims to retain the current director finance has been rejected by the Establishment Division, which stated that the matter has already been settled by the FST and the Supreme Court.

When contacted, a senior Pims official, requesting anonymity, said they wanted a competent officer from the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan so the hospital’s affairs could run smoothly.

“It is true that the post of director finance should be filled through promotion, but we do not believe Mr Bilal is competent enough to manage the hospital’s financial matters,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2025