ETPB head post vacant for 17 months

ISLAMABAD: The process of providing justice to complainants has come to a standstill due to the non-appointment of a regular chairperson of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), a subsidiary body of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

In the absence of the head, review of cases and hearing of appeals on court orders related to ETPB properties across the country has come to a halt. According to sources, the post of ETPB head has been vacant since May 5, 2023. The post fell vacant after the resignation of Habib-ul-Hamman Gilani.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs advertised the post. After shortlisting, the selection board conducted interviews of 23 applicants on April 23, 2024, under the leadership of Federal Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain. The selection board sent a panel of three candidates to the federal cabinet for approval. The panel consisted of Brigadier (retd) Mumtaz Iqbal, Federal Secretary (retd) Habib-ul-Hamman Gilani and Secretary (retd) Ijaz Ahmed. The cabinet approved the panel but ordered that reports of the three candidates be called from intelligence agencies.

A summary was sent to the cabinet on July 20, 2024, but the report was returned by the Cabinet Division on the basis that according to intelligence reports, none of the three candidates is suitable for the post. The federal cabinet rejected the panel sent by the selection board for the appointment and directed to start a new process. However, it has not started yet.