Islamabad, August 18, 2020 (PPI-OT): The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology in its meeting held on Tuesday at Parliament House, took up various issues of importance including irregularities in seniority list of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), details of on-going corruption cases at Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and pending promotion cases at both organizations. In addition to this development of an ecosystem for promotion and glamorization of Science and Technology and status of on-going projects were discussed in detail.
Chaired by Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, the meeting was attended by Senator Hidayatullah, Senator Muhammad Asad Ali Khan Junejo, Senator Kamran Michael and senior officers from the Ministry of Science and Technology, HEC, PSQCA, PCSIR, COMSATS along with all concerned.
The meeting commenced with details of the fact-finding committee regarding irregularities in the seniority list of the officers of PCSIR. Members were informed that the matter was resolved as per recommendations of the Committee. A final seniority list will be submitted to the Ministry at the earliest. The Committee was also informed that a list of all eligible promotion cases have been submitted to the Ministry. Chairman Committee, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad was of the view that organizations under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) must ensure that system is formulated to ensure promotions on time so that such disputes do not arise.
While discussing details of corruption cases at PSQCA, the Committee took strict notice of officers not being suspended during investigations. It was asserted that this would impact inquiry outcome and was important to ensure transparency.
While discussing the progress on the initiation of a dual degree program by COMSATS, the Committee directed the HEC to withdraw the Court case against it. Chairman Committee, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad lauded the on-going projects under the umbrella of MoST and said that all possible steps must be taken so that timelines are met. This, he said, was imperative to the progress of the country. Details of six projects were shared with the Committee.
Reviewing the details of developing an ecosystem that will promote and glamorize Science and Technology in the country, the Committee was of the view that development of a central ecosystem that is governed by a common platform is imperative to the progress of the country. The Committee took strong notice of a dearth of meeting of the National Commission on Science and Technology, since 2002. Chairman Committee, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad said that meetings must be conducted on a regular basis as this was the only way forward to success. He asserted that a meeting of the Executive Committee be called immediately.
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