KARACHI: The Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) is yet to announce results of its departmental promotion board held over a year ago, sources told Dawn on Wednesday.

At least seven of the 20 employees waiting for their promotions have retired while some would retire in coming months, they said.

According to sources, the PCSIR held its departmental board for promotion to grades 18, 19 and 20 on June 9-10 last year.

Around 50 candidates, they said, filed their documents for promotion to grade 20.

`After the board`s proceedings, unofficial results were known to everyone, though no official notification was issued.

Soon after the authorities issued letters for promotion to grades 18 and 19 the following month, a candidate filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court and got a stay order against the board on June 18 last year,` said a PCSIR official, who wished not to be named.

He challenged the board composition on the ground that the board was not constituted as per the written criteria.Thecaseheardbythecourtforabout10 months was defended by the PCSIR head office. The petition was disposed of by the court in April this year for being nonmaintainable.

`It was expected that after the petition`s disposal, promotion results will be notified within one or two weeks as was assured by the PCSIR chairman.

However, there was no update on the promotion issue for over three months despite several requests,` said a PCSIR official waiting for promotion.

The employees, he said, were verbally informed by the relevant authority that one of the candidates had launched a complaint in the ministry of science and technology over the board`s proceedings and a fact-finding committee was constituted to investigate the matter.

The committee, sources said, sent its findings and suggested a review of all cases by another board, which submitted its report in July this year. Later, the committee held a meeting on Aug 5. Since then, there has been complete silence from the head office over promotion letters.

`The candidates waiting for promotion are senior staff members who have dedicated their life and time to the organisation. Of them, seven have retired over thepast few months. Some will retire in coming months while the rest will retire within next two years. It is obvious that this is their last promotion at the peal< of their careers,` said another officer.

The undue delay, he said, was hampering their career path, depriving them of opportunities that they could otherwise avail once they were upgraded.

`The candidates posted at the three main units of the PCSIR in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar are running the overall management and administration oftheirrespective centers.

`They are under constant stress in addition to bearing the financial losses for not moving to the next grade,` he said.

Upon contact, PCSIR chairman Dr Shehzad Alam admitted delay in promotion and said the matter was now in the Lahore High Court.

`It`s now pending in the LHC which is due to hear it by the end of this month. We are hoping that the LHC, too, will give a favourable decision as each promotion case was decided on merit and has been reevaluated,` he said.

According to him, whenever promotions would be notified, they would be effective retrospectively and employees, even those who have retired, will be given due benefits.