ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: The management of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) has been ignoring the recent directives of the cabinet division regarding the appointment of Ehsanul Haq, a banker with 30 years of experience, as the bank’s new president and chief executive officer, according to sources.

The sources told Dawn that in an effort to stop Mr Haq from taking charge of his new position, a meeting of the ZTBL’s board of directors scheduled for Saturday was cancelled.  No reason was given for the cancellation of the meeting and no new date for it was announced.

The ZTBL has been without a permanent president for almost a year and its affairs are being managed by its chief operating officer Roohi Raees Khan.

Ms Khan was given the charge of acting president by the board of directors on Oct 26 last year, soon after Zaka Ashraf, the bank’s previous president, left it for the Pakistan Cricket Board.

However, Ms Khan’s appointment as acting president was never notified by the finance ministry or the cabinet division.

According to the sources, some senior employees of the bank did approach Mr Haq, but only to get hold of his educational certificates, etc. But they turned down his request for a meeting with Ms Khan.

A senior officer in the bank told Dawn that Mr Ashraf, who is still on the ZTBL’s board of directors, has considerable influence in the organisation.—Kalbe Ali