ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology was informed on Monday that the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) was practically non-functioning as there was only one officer in the authority and he too was a non-technical person.
The committee, chaired by Senator Sardar Mohammad Shafiq Tareen, was briefed on the working and performance of Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA).
The authority’s director general, Akhtar A. Bughio, said he was the only officer working in the department and that it took him one-and-a-half years to open the authority’s account. However, he stopped short of highlighting the reasons for the current state of the organisation.
The briefing highlighted that the whole organisation was under a complete halt and only 18 officials were performing their duties in the PHA, and they too were only administrative and clerical staff.
The committee chairman noted that those responsible for such a delay have to be identified and directed Ministry of Science and Technology Secretary Ghulam Mohammad Memon to inquire in the matter.
The chairman instructed the ministry to nominate 15 officers and submit the progress report to the committee and also directed it to expedite recruitment process in the PHA within a month.
The committee unanimously recommended expediting the process of making PHA operational.
