MTI DI Khan Finance director, other employees suspended

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Appellate Tribunal on Saturday suspended the appointment of the newly-hired finance director and other employees at MTI Dera Ismail Khan.

During the hearing, the tribunal also said that it cannot turn a blind eye to the matter and directed the chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) MTI Dera to appear in person at the next hearing.

A hearing was conducted by the MTI Tribunal Chairman Justice (r) Abdul Shakoor and members Mansoor Tariq and Abdul Ghafoor, on an appeal filed by Shahid Farooq, represented by Advocate Habib Anwar.

The petitioner had named the chairman of the BoG MTI Dera and the finance director of MTI Dera as respondents.

The petitioner’s lawyer argued that his client had been serving as the finance director at the hospital when the BoG chairman removed the regular finance director under disciplinary action and replaced him with a private person. The appeal contended that this move was aimed at hiring favoured persons and that the new finance director was being paid a salary of PKR250,000.

The lawyer pleaded that the BoG chairman can only make such appointments in cases of extreme necessity, and even then, a proper procedure involving advertisements, tests, and interviews must be followed. He argued that the appointment was malicious and causing financial loss to the national treasury.

Advocate Habib Anwar also claimed that the BoG chairman not only appointed the finance director but also hired several employees on exorbitant salaries, despite not having the legal authority to do so. He also alleged that regular employees were suspended, which he called unconstitutional and illegal. Additionally, the disciplinary action taken against the petitioner was termed unjustified and baseless.

After reviewing the appointment records, the tribunal ruled that it could not ignore an act that was not only illegal but also detrimental to public funds. It directed the BoG chairman to appear in person at the next hearing to justify these appointments.

Until the chairman’s appearance, the appointments of the new finance director and other employees would remain suspended. The tribunal has also ordered all parties to submit their responses and has scheduled the next hearing for April 24 while restraining any disciplinary action against the petitioner