KARACHI: A serious procedural controversy has emerged in the Sindh Health Department after it issued an Ex-Pakistan leave notification for Prof. Tahir Sagheer, Executive Director of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi, while also assigning his additional charge to Prof. Amin M. Khuwaja, a BS-17 contract employee of the same institution.
According to the notification dated October 16, 2025, Prof. Sagheer has been granted five days’ ex-Pakistan leave from October 26 to 30 to attend the Global Health CEO Summit 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During his absence, the health department authorized Prof. Amin to hold additional charge as executive director, NICVD.
However, senior officials have questioned the legal validity of this notification, terming it a clear violation of service rules and administrative procedure. Sources within the provincial bureaucracy point out that the Health Department is not authorized to issue notifications concerning officers in BS-20 or BS-21. Such decisions fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Services, General Administration, and Coordination Department (SGA&CD) of the Government of Sindh. “Ex-Pakistan leave and additional charge notifications for BS-20 and above officers are strictly the domain of the services department. The health department has overstepped its authority in this case,” said a senior official requesting anonymity.
Adding to the controversy, Prof. Amin Khuwaja, who has been assigned the additional charge of executive director, is not a regular government officer but a contract employee serving on a BS-17 anesthetist position. He reportedly retired five years ago and has since been reappointed on contract through extensions approved by Prof. Tahir Sagheer himself.
However, officials of the health department, requesting anonymity, clarified that Prof. Amin Khuwaja had retired in Grade-20 and is presently serving on contract. They stated that he is the most senior faculty member at NICVD and meets all professional, administrative, and clinical criteria required for managing institutional responsibilities during the absence of the incumbent Executive Director.
Experts note that assigning the top post of Executive Director (BS-21) to a BS-17 contractual employee is administratively and legally untenable. “This is unprecedented. A contract-based BS-17 employee cannot be given charge of a BS-21 position under any service rule or government policy,” remarked a senior administrative officer.
The development has raised alarm within the Sindh bureaucracy and medical fraternity, prompting calls for immediate clarification from the Chief Secretary Sindh, Secretary Services (SGA&CD), and the health minister.
Officials demand that the matter be reviewed urgently to determine how a BS-21 officer’s leave was processed without SGA&CD’s approval, on what basis a contract BS-17 officer was assigned the additional charge of Executive Director, and whether the health department exceeded its administrative jurisdiction in issuing the notification. Observers believe the issue could set a dangerous precedent for misuse of administrative powers within autonomous health institutions if left unaddressed.
