State Minister Zartaj Gul's sister appointed NACTA director

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GEO NEWS
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ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed State Minister Zartaj Gul's sister, Shabnam Gul, as a director of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA).

Shabnam was serving as an assistant professor at Lahore College for Women in Grade-18, however, all at once she was appointed as a director of the key counter-terrorism body of the country.

The government's move is being widely criticised on social media.

Responding to a tweet, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that Shabnam Gul has is a "PHD in [counter] terrorism and FATA, and selected after interviews". 

However, the NACTA offered a clarification in this regard saying that it received a total of 12 requests from employees of different federal and provincial government departments working in BS 17 to 19 for posting in NACTA on deputation basis.

A three-member committee interviewed the applicants on May 14 for vacant posts of assistant directors, deputy directors and directors, and cases of six out of 12 candidates were recommended to be sent to Establishment Division, according to a statement issued by the NACTA.

"Ms Shabnam Gul was one of the selected candidates. The committee recommended her purely on merit for posting against one of the vacant posts of directors as she is already working in BS-19," it clarified.

The NACTA said Shabnam Gul is a PhD scholar with several papers on counter extremism and terrorism, and found appropriate and relevant for research wing.

"Being found a suitable candidate to serve at NACTA, her services were requisitioned through Establishment Division on May 22. The news item circulating on media is totally baseless," the NACTA said further in its statement.

"The NACTA followed 100 per cent merit and due process in requisitioning of her services."