Karachi: The Sindh government’s decision to retain former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah’s daughter, Prof Dr Nighat Shah, for another three years after retirement has drawn formal opposition from senior faculty at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), who say the move could block promotions and undermine merit and seniority.
In a letter sent to the Vice Chancellor of Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) on August 11, faculty members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ward-8, JPMC-JSMU, called for a review of the decision, warning that a “considerable number” of associate professors and other faculty members were already awaiting promotion on the basis of seniority and prescribed eligibility criteria.
The protest came after the Sindh cabinet approved the post-retirement appointment of Prof Nighat Shah, Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at JSMU, for another three years. She was due to retire from government service on August 12 after attaining the age of superannuation of 60 years.
The Universities and Boards Department had earlier written to the JSMU vice chancellor, directing the university to take immediate necessary action on the cabinet decision and implement it “in letter and spirit without delay”.
However, the protesting faculty members have questioned the justification for granting an extension when eligible serving faculty are available for promotion.
“Extensions of this nature have not generally been granted under normal circumstances,” the faculty members said in their letter, adding that such extensions were usually considered only when no suitable incumbent was available to assume the relevant position.
They warned that implementation of the cabinet decision could adversely affect the career progression of eligible faculty members and undermine the principles of merit, seniority and established promotion criteria.
The faculty further cautioned that the decision could negatively affect morale and productivity and create administrative difficulties within the institution, ultimately affecting teaching, research and patient care.
The objections have added another dimension to the controversy surrounding the cabinet’s decision because Prof Nighat Shah is the daughter of Syed Qaim Ali Shah, a senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former chief minister of Sindh.
Faculty members have effectively questioned whether an exceptional post-retirement appointment should take precedence over the promotion rights of serving doctors who meet the prescribed criteria and are waiting to move up the academic hierarchy.
They requested the JSMU vice chancellor to review the matter in the larger public interest and ensure that merit, seniority and prescribed criteria were upheld.
Significantly, copies of the faculty letter were also forwarded to Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Sindh Chief Minister, Provincial Ombudsman Sindh, Sindh Health Minister, Universities and Boards Minister and the Executive Director of JPMC, indicating that the protesting doctors have taken their concerns beyond the university administration.
The letter bears the names and signatures of Associate Professors Dr Shazia Naseeb and Dr Memoona Rehman, Assistant Professors Dr Shafaq Ismail, Dr Omema Akhtar and Dr Mahrukh Hyder, and Senior Registrar Dr Saira Shaikh of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department.
The controversy has also brought into focus the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s May 19, 2026 notification allowing public-sector medical and dental institutions to engage retired faculty on contract up to the age of 65.
The regulatory provision, however, requires that such appointments should not compromise promotion opportunities, career progression or the cadre structure of junior and serving faculty.
The central question raised by the JPMC faculty is therefore whether retaining Prof Nighat Shah for another three years can be reconciled with those safeguards when serving faculty members are already awaiting promotion.
With the Sindh cabinet pushing for implementation of its decision and serving faculty formally opposing it, the issue has now moved beyond an individual post-retirement appointment into a wider question of merit, seniority and career progression within the province’s public medical institutions.
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