ISLAMABAD: Five years on, vacant posts at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) could not be filled.

According to a document tabled at the floor of National Assembly, as many as 579 posts are still vacant in the hospital.

The hospital had advertised on June 28 this year 294 vacancies of medical officers, 29 assistant professors, 24 senior registrars, 21 assistant anaesthetists, 14 assistant dental surgeons, seven associ-ate professors and four professors.

According to the document, the filling of posts was under process.

Moreover, document shows that out of remaining 186 posts, 74 posts pertain to promotion quota and cases of promotion.

The document said that 112 posts had been created on May 28 (51 posts of assistant professors and 61 of senior registrars). The recruitment against those posts will be made shortly.The problem of filling vacancies started after 2013 as during the tenure of PPP led government parliament passed the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (Pims), Islamabad Bill, 2013. Bill was moved by then Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Nazar Mohammad Gondal, upgrading Pims to a medical university and management of university got the power to run the hospital andrecruit the staff.

Around 600 posts, which remained vacant during the tenure of PPP because of lack of funds, could not be filled even during the first year of PML-N government because of ban on appointments.

Giving in to the employees` protest, the PML-N government declared the hospital a public sector institution through legislation, but could not make appointments.

Staff Reporter