ISLAMABAD: Controversial appointments seem to be a forte of the present government as it appointed a tainted officer, Muhammad Azam to the post of Director General (DG) Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP).
Azam was suspended from his post of director general oil of Petroleum Ministry and Natural Resources in wake of petrol crisis that affected Punjab in January 2015, reported Express Tribune.
Shockingly, Azam has been appointed as director general of HDIP for three years instead of the stipulated two in a recent cabinet meeting. Ministry of Energy had forwarded a summary to the prime minister for his appointment as HDIP’s director general for a period of two years.
The government ignored skepticism of the Establishment division and decided to appoint Azam as the DG of HDIP. HDIP is under administrative control of energy ministry (petroleum division) and is an autonomous body.
HDIP is responsible for testing of petroleum products and all imported POL products are carried out in its laboratories.
When the Establishment division sent this summary, it shared its reservations over the selection and appointment of a retired officer who had undergone disciplinary proceeds and had been an employee of Petroleum Division.
It said this appointment should be rethought, and PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi instructed the case be put before cabinet for deliberation. A senior government official shared the cabinet took the summary into deliberation and gave go-ahead to appointment of Azam as DG of HDIP for a period of three years.
