Karachi: The Sindh cabinet has approved a three-year post-retirement appointment for former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah’s daughter, Prof Dr Nighat Shah, at Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU), raising concerns over political influence and promotions of serving faculty.
Official documents show that Dr Nighat Shah, Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at JSMU, is due to retire from government service on August 12, 2026, after attaining the age of superannuation of 60 years.
Just days before her retirement, the Sindh cabinet took up her individual case at its August 5 meeting and directed the JSMU vice chancellor to consider her appointment as professor for another three years.
The Universities and Boards Department subsequently wrote to the JSMU vice chancellor on August 10, directing him to take “immediate necessary action” and implement the cabinet decision “in letter and spirit without delay”.
The development has triggered concern among faculty members because Dr Nighat Shah is the daughter of Syed Qaim Ali Shah, a former Sindh chief minister and senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader. Her post-retirement appointment could potentially affect promotion prospects of serving academics.
There is no evidence in the official documents reviewed for this story that the former chief minister personally intervened in his daughter’s appointment.
Faculty members are nevertheless questioning why the post-retirement appointment of an individual professor was taken up by the provincial cabinet instead of being decided by the university under its institutional requirements and prescribed procedure.
A senior professor associated with Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, requesting anonymity, claimed that five serving associate professors could see their promotion prospects affected if Dr Nighat Shah continues to occupy a professorial position for another three years.
The concern is significant because the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council policy being used as the basis for Dr Shah’s appointment explicitly says engagement of retired faculty should not adversely affect junior faculty.
In a May 19, 2026 notification, PM&DC allowed public-sector medical and dental institutions to engage retired faculty up to the age of 65 on a “purely contractual basis”, subject to institutional requirements and applicable rules and policies.
But the notification does not provide an automatic extension to retiring professors. It describes the provision as “enabling in nature”, not mandatory or binding upon any institution.
“Each institution shall remain competent to decide the engagement of retired faculty members in accordance with its own requirements, governing statutes, rules, regulations, and availability of resources,” it states.
More importantly, it says such contractual engagement “shall not adversely affect the promotion prospects, career progression, or cadre structure of junior faculty members”. It also confers no right to regular appointment, seniority or permanent absorption in service.
JSMU issued a retirement memorandum on August 8, stating that Dr Shah would stand retired from government service with effect from August 12 after attaining the age of 60.
Her proposed three-year engagement would therefore be a fresh contractual appointment after retirement, rather than an extension of regular government service.
Two days later, the Universities and Boards Department communicated the cabinet’s decision, saying the matter had been considered in the “larger public interest” to ensure continuity of specialised healthcare services, academic leadership, postgraduate medical education, research, innovation and institutional excellence.
The decision says her appointment should follow the “prescribed procedure” in the PM&DC notification. However, the department more categorically directed the vice chancellor to take “immediate necessary action for appointment of Prof. Dr. Nighat Shah as Professor” for three years, sought a compliance report on priority and ordered implementation without delay.
The wording has raised questions over how much discretion remains with JSMU when PM&DC leaves such appointments to institutions on the basis of their requirements, rules and resources.
“The issue is not whether JSMU can legally employ a professor after retirement. PM&DC permits public medical institutions to hire retired faculty up to 65 under prescribed conditions” a senior JSMU faculty member said.
“The key questions are why Dr Shah’s individual case went to the cabinet, what institutional requirement justified her appointment, whether the prescribed selection procedure will be followed, and how the university will protect promotion prospects of the five associate professors reportedly awaiting advancement”, the faculty member, who requested anonymity, observed.
The documents contain no evidence of wrongdoing by Dr Shah or personal intervention by her father. The questions arise from the timing and handling of the appointment, cabinet involvement and its possible implications for serving faculty.
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