ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has reportedly given three days to the ministries and divisions to fill vacant positions on the Boards of Directors (BoDs) of entities under their administrative control, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
The PMO’s letter was sent to the ministries a few days after a dispute arose between the Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan, and the PMO over the issue of Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Shakeel Mangnejo, who held a BoD position at Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited (PRCL).
Additional Secretary PMO (O&B), Syed Hamid Ali — who was transferred to the PMO from the Ministry of Commerce shortly after the appointment of Shakeel Mangnejo as Special Secretary to the Prime Minister — has referred to a letter from the Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dr Syed Tauqeer Hussain Shah on July 24, 2025. In that letter, Dr Shah conveyed the prime minister’s directives to the concerned ministries regarding the urgent fulfillment of vacant positions on Boards.
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“It has been desired that all ministries and divisions shall immediately complete the composition of their Boards and convene their Board Nomination Committee (BNC) meetings within the next three days. Summaries must be submitted for the Prime Minister’s approval during the following week,” sources quoted the Additional Secretary as stating in his letter.
In his letter to various ministries and divisions, Dr Tauqeer Hussain Shah conveyed the prime minister’s concern, stating that the current occupancy and vacancy status of the Boards of Directors of various Public Sector Entities (PSEs) had been presented to the PM. It was observed that, despite repeated reminders from the PMO, a significant number of Boards remain incomplete, with several regular or casual positions still vacant.
According to the PM’s Adviser, the prime minister has emphasised that completing the Boards of Directors of PSEs is essential for their effective and efficient functioning. Accordingly, the prime minister has directed that the process of filling all vacant positions must be completed within one month.
To meet this goal, the following timelines have been outlined: (i) in cases where the selection process has been completed and final approval from the Federal Cabinet is awaited, the Cabinet Division shall place all such summaries before the next meeting of the Federal Cabinet; (ii) if the BNCs have already made recommendations and the cases are yet to be processed by the respective Divisions, the summaries must be submitted to the prime minister within one week; (iii) if BNC recommendations are still pending, the requisite meetings must be convened within 10 days ; and (iv) the process of filling casual vacancies on various Boards shall also be prioritized, and appropriate action shall be taken accordingly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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