The caretaker government has approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar for the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) chairman post.

The approval was given by the interim federal cabinet during a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq in Islamabad on Monday. The interior ministry had proposed three names for the position.

Officials informed the cabinet that the selection committee had shortlisted the names of the three best candidates for the coveted post. After detailed consideration, the cabinet approved the appointment of Lt-Gen Afsar as the new chairman of NADRA.

He will succeed Asad Rehman Gilani as the new head of database authority. In June, Gilani assumed additional charge as the new chairman after the predecessor Tariq Malik resigned.

Who is Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar?

Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar is a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz (military) and carries vast experience in technical development and systems in information technology in the United Nations mission.

Moreover, he has an MPhil in public policy and national security management. He compiled a research paper on public policy response in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department during the 2010 floods.

Lt-Gen Afsar did his MS in GIS and Remote Sensing. He was also awarded the civil award for his paper on rapid geospatial data generation through photometry.

He did his MS in National Resource Strategy (C&IT Industry and Supply Chain Management) from the National Defense University in Washington DC where he was named a “distinguished graduate”. Currently, he is a candidate for PhD in remote sensing at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad and his research paper is on the detection of plant diseases through remote sensing and artificial intelligence.

Afsar has several research publications to his credit related to various aspects of IT and GIS. He has also served in the UN missions as a military GIS officer.

He also served the government in the development of GIS application for flood recovery during the 2010 floods. He also served as the director general of IT at the Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence, (C4I) Directorate.

After being promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, Afsar served as inspector general of communication and IT as well as commander of Pakistan Army Cyber Command.

The cabinet also gave assent to the decisions taken in the meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee on September 6.

Provision of skills for youth

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has stressed the need for working on war footing for provision of skills to the country’s manpower according to the contemporary requirements.

He said that the professional education and vocational training programmes should be prepared at par the needs of the international market. Steps should be taken to increase employment opportunities of skilled people abroad, the premier added.

On recommendation of federal ministry of education and professional training, the federal cabinet also approved the service level amended agreement between the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and Saudi agency Takamol.

The prime minister directed that all existing centres of technical education and vocational training should be activated. On the recommendation of the education ministry, the cabinet also approved the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Area Studies Center, University of Peshawar and Central Asia Research Center of Corvinus University of Hungary.

On the recommendation of the interior ministry, the cabinet approved the agreement between the governments of Pakistan and Ecuador, under which diplomatic, officials and special passport holders of both countries would be mutually exempted from visa.

The cabinet also extended approval to the name of Summit Bank Limited as Bank Mukarramah Limited on the recommendation of the finance ministry.

(With input from APP)