Govt appoints Bajwa MD of ISGSL
TRIBUNE: CREATIVE
The government has appointed Nadeem Javed Bajwa as managing director of Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited (ISGSL), which deals with mega gas pipeline projects like Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), Iran-Pakistan and North South projects.
ISGSL was established in 1996 as a private limited company and was incorporated under the Companies Ordinance 1984 (now Companies Act 2017).
It is mandated to oversee the impact of big gas pipeline schemes on the country and make improvement in the strategic oil and gas infrastructure.
The company is a subsidiary of Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL) and is working under the aegis of Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division).
As per Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013, as amended up to 2017, the ISGSL board had evaluated candidates based on fit-and-proper criteria and guidelines specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for the appointment of managing director/chief executive and recommended at least three candidates to the federal government for its concurrence.
The post of ISGSL managing director fell vacant on May 12, 2020 following the resignation of then MD/CEO. An advertisement for the post of ISGSL MD/CEO was finalised by a head-hunting firm, in consultation with the company board of directors, and was published in newspapers.
The consultant received 120 applications and after screening and interviews recommended 13 aspirants for the board’s consideration.
The board interviewed 12 available candidates in its 142nd meeting held on June 16, 2021, reviewed the merit order provided by the consultant and recommended five candidates for consideration of the division.
They included Waqar Ahmad Khan, Nadeem Javed Bajwa, Tauseef Salma, Gulzar Khoja and Atif Ghafoor Mirza. Khoja later withdrew her application.
In order to add a further layer of scrutiny and to ensure due diligence of the proposed candidates, as envisaged in Section 6 of the Public Sector Companies (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines 2015, the division constituted a high-powered interview committee under the chairmanship of federal minister for energy (Petroleum Division).
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The committee interviewed four available candidates and submitted its remarks/observations to the ISGSL board for review of the matter with respect to the determination of the most suitable candidate for the office of ISGSL MD/CEO. The board was also required to convey a panel, in the order of preference, as required under Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2015.
The ISGSL board, in its meeting held on August 2, 2021, reviewed the merit order and recommended the appointment of one of them, in the order of priority, as the ISGSL MD/CEO for a period of three years.
It recommended Nadeem Javed Bajwa, Tauseef Salma, Waqar Ahmad Khan and Atif Ghafoor Mirza.
The Petroleum Division submitted a summary to the Prime Minister’s Office for the appointment of MD/CEO of ISĢSL on August 11, 2021. The prime minister approved the placement of the panel with the federal cabinet for consideration.
As a result, approval of the cabinet was solicited for the appointment of one of the candidates for three years on a contract basis.
The cabinet considered a summary titled “Appointment of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Inter State Gas Systems”, submitted by the Petroleum Division, and approved the appointment of Nadeem Javed Bajwa as the MD/CEO on a contract basis for a period of three years.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2021.
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