Will it be FPC or PFDC for Amir Adnan?

I am a part of this industry and I know the business of fashion, says Amir Adnan.

KARACHI:

Whatever happens in the fashion industry stays in the fashion industry. The invisible fence around this world protects any information from leaking out. But this time around, it seems like they’ve let their guard down.

Founder member of Fashion Pakistan Council (FPC) Amir Adnan has decided to switch parties (or be a part of two?); rumours about him joining the board of Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) have been making the rounds. The Express Tribune gets to the bottom of it and discovers the truth.

It’s official. Amir Adnan has his feet in two ships. What’s unclear is whether he will juggle the two competing parties or pick one over the other. The designer’s colleagues reveal that he hasn’t officially resigned from FPC — everyone is in a state of turmoil. What is going on?

“I am a part of this industry and I know the business of fashion. So why can’t I support both councils?” asks Adnan defensively. “FPC and PFDC are two separate entities and are not competing against one another.” It’s essential that he leaves one party before joining the other, but Adnan remains a little clueless to the notion. “I don’t know the exact date of when the FPC post [currently holds] expires, but it should be round about the same time I take charge of the new one.”

Adnan reveals that no official paperwork has been done regarding his new position at PFDC. “Yes, I have become a board member at PFDC but for now, it’s all verbal. I haven’t been offered a designation [specifically],” he explains the current scenario. “Nothing is official until and unless they elect me into becoming a board member.”

CEO of PFDC Saad Ali shed some light on the subject. “I am not supposed to disclose anything about it yet but yes, Amir Adnan has signed the entry form and is a now corporate board member at PFDC,” he reveals, adding, “I am sure he has resigned from his post [at FPC]. It’s official that he is a member of PFDC now.”

There are two very interesting sides to this story. Chairperson FPC Shamaeel Ansari shares another set of facts starting with the most significant one: Adnan hasn’t resigned from FPC nor has he informed them. “As a professional, he should have informed one council of his decision and then joined the other; and it should have been in that exact order,” she says. “We can’t dictate [our opinions] on anyone. But I thought he was professional and that he would take the professional path.”

She further elaborates on the formal process of resignation, which she feels Adnan should have followed. “FPC is a registered company under Section 42 and any board member who wants to resign, has to go through a process of signing [specific] papers and needs to submit them to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan [SECP],” she says.

Legal expert Zara Siddiqui talks about the implications. “There are two primary things which need to be taken into account. One, you cannot create a monopoly and second, this practice [of holding two positions simultaneously] is unethical,” she says. “Since these are two competing bodies, Adnan needs to understand that he has to step down from one.” She feels there are certain confidentiality and non-disclosure issues which both councils maintain and thus, “It’s unfair as these issues will get juxtaposed in the open.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.

Like Life & Style on Facebook for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.