The senior management of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has decided to shift company headquarters from Karachi to Islamabad at a considerable cost and inconvenience to staff. According to reliable sources, the management of the country's second largest oil/gas Exploration and Production (E&P) company has divided the company into four groups to facilitate privatisation with each part being sold separately.
Sources also revealed that senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and the Board of Directors of PPL appointed Managing Director (MD), Syed Wamiq Abrar Bokhari, against the set rules and regulations. "PPL's Advertisement regarding appointment of MD clearly stands out as in PPL's case maximum age limit was set at 55 years with flexibility up to 57 years in case of extraordinary credentials. As per the Advertisement of all the other companies under the Ministry of Petroleum, qualified professionals with requisite experience, even above 60, may apply [eg PSO: 62 years, SSGC: 62 years, SNGP: 62 years and OGDC: no age limit]", sources stated adding that this was deliberate with the objective of disqualifying certain individuals from applying.
However, the candidate selected (born in January 1957) was at the time of the appointment above 58 years old, according to copies of his passport and National Identity Card. The post was not re-advertised as required under the rules to accommodate the higher age of the man selected. Syed Wamiq Abrar Bokhari began his career as a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force, but later became a US national and has worked all his life in the USA as well as a US expatriate in Yemen, Pakistan and Kuwait etc.