Appointing CEOs the professional way

As the dust settles, a mountain of challenges awaits the new government, for which it has made a number of promises to address. Finding the right people for the right job is a challenge that the PML-N will face upfront as a few posts in key government institutions lie vacant.
The infamous Tauqir Sadiq appointment case has ensured that media and judiciary will keep their eyes wide open on how things go. The PML-N has very clearly chalked out a plan in its election manifesto regarding corporatisation and privatisation of state-owned entities and power sector.
In the light of recent events, the government might be under pressure to appoint high profile CEOs by placing advertisements in newspapers and following the lengthy process of screening and interviewing. The problem with this approach is that it may not always work in such cases, as Pakistan already faces a crunch of highly competent professional high-level manpower, which may not find it suitable to apply under this procedure.
Generally around the globe, corporations normally go through a head hunter for such top positions, as the competent ones would be reluctant to apply and be screened. The likelihood of being rejected is enough reason for eligible ones to stay out of the process. The government will have to come up with a new solution, by amending the rules of the game as the current situation is not practical in case of Pakistan.
It is advisable for the government to form a search committee comprising apolitical, professionally competent individuals. This is assuming that nepotism does not prevail, which is why the judiciary had to intervene during the previous governments tenure.
The PML-N has stated very clearly that it will appoint independent and professional boards who in turn will appoint competent CEOs of state enterprises. If the manifestos spirit is followed, the issue of nepotism could be addressed as it states professional competence and merit as the key criteria for appointment of boards and CEOs.
Since the new government is highly likely to corporatise and privatise the power sector generation and distribution companies, it has to ensure that the regulators too are properly manned. The discos and gencos should then be under the Privatisation Commission ambit instead of being run and managed by the ministry.
The search committee should be empowered to work independent of political pressures and should be allowed to fetch people from outside Pakistan, if need be.