ISLAMABAD: As many as 19 officers of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have been promoted to higher pay scales, while five of them have received ante-dated promotions following the intervention of Health Minister Mustafa Kamal.

According to a notification of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), available with Dawn, 10 doctors and five nurses have been promoted to Basic Pay Scale BPS-18, while four other officers have been promoted to BPS-17.

While 14 officers will remain on probation under Section 6 (2) of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, five doctors have received ante-dated promotions as their cases had been pending for a long time. The decision has made them eligible for promotion to the next pay scales.

According to the notifications, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics (BPS-18) Dr Asfandyar Khan has been granted an ante-dated promotion with effect from Oct 10, 2019, instead of Dec 14, 2021.

Similarly, Dr Syed Amer Shah of the Neurosurgery Department, Dr Aneza Jalil of Medicine, Dr Amer Salim of Gastroenterology and Dr Sadia Noor of the Oncology Department have also been granted promotions from earlier dates.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Asfandyar Khan said their promotions had long been overdue but no progress was being made.

“We contacted Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal and informed him about the issue. Following his intervention, we got our due rights, which had been denied to us for many years. It has immediately made us eligible for promotion to the next pay scales,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2026