AIPS defends decision after scholars express outrage at ‘arbitrary’ dismissal of director

ISLAMABAD: Leading Pakistani academics have taken exception to the "arbitrary and summary" sacking of anthropologist and scholar Dr Noman Baig as Director-in-Pakistan for the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) just four months after he was appointed, and have called for an investigation into the matter.

In a joint letter to the board of trustees of the AIPS, a bi-national research and education organisation based in the US, a who's who of academics in and from Pakistan has called Dr Baig a "well-known and respected anthropologist and scholar" and expressed "alarm and dismay at the quickness and arbitrariness" with which Dr Baig has been terminated in what the academics say they "consider a highly irregular, uncollegial, and litigious manner".

The joint letter says that Dr Baig, whose scholarship is well-recognised in academic circles both in Pakistan and the US, was formally invited by the AIPS a few months ago to serve as its director in Islamabad but "met with what can only be deemed a hostile and unprofessional work environment just because of his efforts to promote greater mutuality, inclusiveness, structural equity and fecundity to collaborations between scholars in Pakistan and those in the US". They say that this was done by Dr Matthew Cook, the president of the AIPS, who "summarily" asked Dr Baig to resign "without showing any instance of wrongdoing".

The letter adds that a rigorous recruitment process by a committee of eminent scholars of Pakistan led to the hiring of Dr Baig, who was encouraged to move his family, including three children, from Karachi, where he taught at the Habib University as a senior faculty member, to Islamabad to take the AIPS in a "new direction of promoting collaborative scholarship in and on Pakistan."

According to the letter, some of the allegations levelled by Dr Cook accused Dr Baig of not complying with financial audits and compliance procedures though the finances of the AIPS Islamabad Office laid exclusively with the main AIPS office in Wisconsin, and that the former didn't produce any proof of financial mismanagement by the latter.

The scholars also say that Dr Cook took Dr Baig to task for ordering a Rs5,000 poster to promote a public lecture by an eminent environmental scientist and AIPS fellow, and wrongfully accused him of changing the employment contracts of Islamabad Office's staff members without producing any evidence to substantiate these allegations.

When the AIPS director responded to the accusations in an email, the institute's president allegedly not only asked him to resign but also decided to engage the organisation's lawyers to 'deal with' Dr Baig.

"The AIPS president's office has shown poor judgement in this matter, and we foresee its far-reaching consequences for the health of the AIPS as an institution and its mission in Pakistan. The mistreatment of a highly respected Pakistani scholar by the AIPS leadership threatens to erode trust in our mission at a time when all US-based institutions are viewed with suspicion and acting with colonial overreach in Pakistan."

On being contacted by this correspondent, the AIPS responded with a short statement, clarifying its stance on the matter and contradicting the letter signed by Pakistani scholars. According to the AIPS, " Dr Baig’s dismissal from AIPS has been due to performance and conduct matters and in accordance with the laws of Pakistan. The dismissal was not arbitrary or summary, as Dr Baig’s situation was collectively reviewed by multiple AIPS officeholders, who unanimously decided to terminate his contract. Regardless of Dr Baig’s situation, AIPS will continue its positive mission to promote the study of Pakistan".

Meanwhile, Pakistani academics who have signed the letter say that the AIPS board of trustees should investigate the matter as well as inform all members of the institute about "the operational agreement, which includes basic protections and procedures for redress for Islamabad Office's employees to ensure they work with respect and dignity just like their colleagues in the US".

Some of the academics in the 50-strong list of signatures include Dr Manan Ahmed of Columbia University, Dr Majed Akhter of King's College, Dr Manzoor Ahmed Baloch of University of Gwadar, Dr Jahanzeb Baloch of University of Balochistan, Waqas H Butt of University of Toronto, Dr Abdul Haque Chang of IBA, Dr Ilyas Chattha of LUMS, Dr Mariam Durrani of American University, Washington, Dr Ghazal Asif Farrukhi of LUMS, Dr Ali Usman Qasmi of LUMS, Dr Nida Kirmani of LUMS, Dr Nauman Naqvi of Habib University, Dr Sarah Waheed of University of South Carolina and Dr Arsalan Khan of University of Tennessee.