LAHORE - A junior most professor falling on number 120 in seniority has been appointed as principal of the Post-Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI)/Lahore General Hospital by the Punjab government due to the reasons only known to the authority concerned, say sources in the PGMI. As per the notification issued here Monday, Tariq Salahud Din, Professor of Neurosurgery, had been appointed as PGMI Principal. But Prof Israr, who was already performing the duties of principal of the institution, has refused to leave the charge of the office, as he thinks that his name was at the top of the panel of three recommended by the Board of Management of the Institution while names of Prof Tariq Salahud Din and Prof Abdul Mannan fell on number two and three respectively. As a result, two heads were working on Monday at the PGMI. Prof Tariq on receiving the orders of his appointment took over the charge of the office, but the already performing principal, Prof Israr did not relinquish the charge and both the principals worked at the same time. Prof Israr maintained that the Board of Management recommendations were manoeuvred in the Punjab Civil Secretariat and the summary en-routed to the Chief Minister brought different results. He said that the Lahore General Hospital (LGH) affiliated with the PGMI was a 250-bedded hospital, and as per the requirements of the Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC) five professors were needed, but only two professors had been serving. Among these two professors, he added, the Punjab government had appointed one of them as principal, and now only one professor was there to check 250 patients whereas one professor was required for 50 beds. He said that he tried to see the Chief Secretary Punjab to bring the matter to his notice, but he was not available. I have also written a letter to CM Shahbaz Sharif in this regard, he said, adding that he would knock every door to seek justice. When contacted Anjum Habib Wohra, a stakeholder of the case and head of the Neurosurgery Department in the same Institution, informed that Prof Tariq was junior not only in the seniority list of the Punjab, but also within the PGMI. He said that he had written two letters to the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister Punjab in this regard. Prof Tariq Salahud Din refused to comment on his seniority, when this scribe contacted him. Instead he said, Put this question before the Chief Minister, who appointed me as principal, and switched off his cellphone.