ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan chairs in 14 universities abroad have been vacant for years but the federal government`s education ministry has turned the selection process farce.
On the other hand, India has around 300 chairs and all are filled and playing an important role in image and relations building of their country.
Advertisements were published one after the other over the years only to postpone the selection process.
There are Pakistan chairs at universitiesin Germany, Egypt, Turkey, the United Kingdom and China. Sources said these chairs have been vacant for six to 11 years.
During the previous PML-N government, the chairs were advertised twice in 2015 and in 2017 but not a single appointment was made. However, when the PTI came to power in 2018, the education ministry decided to fill six of the chairs.
The PTI government advertised the posts but then halted the process. In September last year, another advertisement was published to fill the four chairs set up in universities of Iran, UK, Germany and China. Interviews were held in March this year but since then there has beenno progress.
Prof Dr Saeed Shafgat, the founding director of Centre for Public Policy and Governance, who served at the Pakistan Centre at Colombia University from 2001 to 2005, said: `This is unfortunate that Pakistani chairs are lying vacant for years. These chairs should be filled with-out any further delay and competent scholars after competitive process should be appointed,` he said and added that these chairs were very essential for Pakistan for promoting academic linkage and country`s narrative
