Ineligible hiring at Exim bank

Officials say incumbent CEO did not meet eligibility criteria at time of appointment

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to hire a new head of Pakistan’s Export-Import (Exim) bank amid a disclosure of discrepancy in the age of the incumbent president, which should have made him ineligible for the appointment four years ago.

Sources in the Ministry of Finance told The Express Tribune that a decision has been made to expedite the process for the appointment of the chief executive officer and the president of the Exim Bank of Pakistan. This decision was taken after it surfaced that the incumbent chief executive did not meet the eligibility criteria at the time of his appointment in December 2019, according to officials.

In July last year, the federal cabinet had extended the tenure of the chief executive of the Exim Bank for a period of six months or until a new appointment, whichever is later. But the Ministry of Finance was now considering stopping the president from attending the office, said the sources.

The advertisement for the appointment of the CEO of EXIM Bank had been published in newspapers in May 2019. The age limit was kept at 55, as shown in the advertisement.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan records showed that there was a clear discrepancy in the age record mentioned in two different passports. The president, Syed Irfran Bukhari, is a dual national, holding both Canadian and Pakistani nationalities, the Ministry of Finance confirmed to The Express Tribune.

In December 2019, the Ministry of Finance issued the notification for the appointment of Bukhari as the head of the bank, subject to clearance by the central bank.

The documents showed that the central bank highlighted the “discrepancy” in the age of the candidate in a letter sent to the Ministry of Finance in February 2020.

“While assessing the fitness and propriety of Irfan Bukhari for the subject position, a discrepancy in his date of birth has been noted. In the National Identity Card Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), the date of birth is 08-05-1964, whereas in the Canadian passport and FPT Proforma, his date of birth is 08-05-1962,” according to the SBP letter to the finance ministry.

The central bank clearly told the finance ministry that his age was above the eligibility criterion and “in contradiction with the job advertisement wherein the maximum age requirement for the position is 55 years”.

The central bank advised the ministry to reassess Bukhari’s eligibility. However, despite these contradictions, the ministry secured an extension in Bukhari’s tenure in July last year.

When contacted, the Spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, Qamar Abbasi, confirmed that Bukhari was a dual national holding Pakistani and Canadian nationalities.

The spokesman said that at the time of the appointment, as per the record of the NICOP, the president was 54 years and 11 months old. Abbasi said that Bukhari was shortlisted on the basis of his date of birth as mentioned in NICOP, which was cross-verified from NADRA.

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But the documents suggested that Bukhari started the process of preparing documents to meet the age limit criteria after his selection.

The date of birth on his Canadian passport was May 8, 1962, which he obtained in August 2019. This made him ineligible for the post.

However, the Pakistani passport was issued on January 13, 2020 – weeks after his notification from the Exim Bank president, and mentioned the date of birth as May 8, 1964.

The finance ministry spokesman said a committee comprising the additional secretary internal finance, additional secretary establishment, and additional finance secretary human resource had shortlisted the candidates.

Abbasi said that a selection committee comprising the then finance minister, then Minister for Commerce, former Prime Minister’s Advisor on Institutional Reforms & Austerity, then secretary finance, then secretary establishment, and the then additional secretary Finance Division had finalised his name.

The spokesman further said that as required for such appointments, the SBP assessed the proposed appointment on the basis of its prescribed Fit Proper Test and cleared it.

But the record showed that the central bank had highlighted the age discrepancy.

Pakistan has established the Exim bank as a Development Finance Institution and it is fully owned by the federal government. The Exim bank’s mandate is to promote exports and to support the implementation of import-substitution projects.

The sources said that the Ministry of Finance at that time had sought clarification from Bukhari after the central bank objection. Four years ago, the president had assured that he would get the record corrected with Canadian authorities and with provincial authorities of Punjab, according to the sources. But subsequently there was no follow-up on the issue. The spokesman said that the federal cabinet had approved the reappointment of Bukhari on the recommendation of the Finance Division in July last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2024.

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