Confusion: ‘Polio cell chief became victim of departmental scuffle’

Dr Bosan was unavailable for comment.

ISLAMABAD: A jurisdiction tussle between the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) and Prime Minister’s secretariat is the main reason behind the removal of chief of PM’s Monitoring and Coordination Cell for polio Dr Altaf Bosan, an official claimed on Tuesday.

The confusion surfaced when in December 2012 the Emergency Polio Plan was implemented by Ministry of IPC while the activities were monitored by PM’s polio cell.

Talking to The Express Tribune the official said that the ministry wanted to give additional responsibility of monitoring the coverage of routine immunisation to PM’s polio cell.

Hence, IPC Secretary Faridullah Khan, after international donors’ assent, issued a notification in this regard and sent it to PM secretariat, informed the official.



However, the PM secretariat did not concur and termed it a misuse of powers, asking the IPC secretary to withdraw the notification as he was unauthorised to so without the PM secretariat’s approval, the official stated. He added that in between this tussle, the PM secretariat sacked Dr Altaf Bosan.

When The Express Tribune tried to contact Dr Bosan he was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile the IPC secretary declined to discuss the issue as “highlighting it could become controversial”. He refused to comment saying that he is a government employee and is not authorised to talk to the press.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2013.