ISLAMABAD: The federal government is likely to appoint Major General Hafeezur Rehman (retired) as new Member Administration in the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) who is expected to be later elevated and appointed as the chairman of the Authority, well-placed sources revealed to Business Recorder.

The approval is expected to be sought through the circulation of a summary from the federal cabinet on the recommendation of Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif-led committee. The chairman will be appointed in MP-1 scale.

Sources further revealed that Muhammad Amir Malik is another top contender in the run among top 20 recommended candidates by the scrutiny/shortlisting committee for the post of Member Administration and who were interviewed and completed on Friday.

The committee had rejected 22 candidates and not recommended for the interview. The interviews were concluded last week and now the final summary is on way to get approval from the Cabinet.

A Member Administration post has been created in the PTA for which the government amended the required rules. The federal government last month initiated the process for appointing a new Member i.e. Member Administration of the PTA, which would increase the number to four.

The PTA comprises Members Technical, Finance and Compliance and Enforcement and traditionally Member Technical becomes the chairman of the PTA. However, the government has decided to increase the number to four members.

On the other hand, several months after the advertisement for the post of Member Technical PTA, the Cabinet Division could not start the scrutiny of the candidates. The cabinet division officials say that the process of scrutiny of candidates for Member Technical will be started soon, and after the scrutiny, shortlisting will be started. Officials did not say when the process of appointment of member technical will be completed.

Officials of the Cabinet Division said that the post of Member Compliance and Enforcement was not advertised on the instructions of the federal government. The Cabinet division had sent the summary of the re-appointment of ex-member compliance and enforcement to the federal government, which was later approved.

Currently, the position of chairman/Member (Technical) is vacant. However, the government has assigned the charge of Chairman PTA to Muhammad Naveed, Member Finance for three months, after the Authority remained headless for more than two and a half months.

The appointment of Member Administration shall be made for an initial of four years, and shall be eligible re-appointment, upon satisfactory performance, for a similar term or terms subject to the condition that a member shall cease to hold office on attaining the age of 65 years.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023