Punjab government has removed Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). Although the provincial government removed the PITB Chief, no replacement has been named yet.
Dr. Umar Saif was appointed as the chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board in November 2011.
In a statement shared with ProPakistani Dr. Umar Saif confirmed the development.
Statement further read:
All good things must come to an end. It was a privilege to serve this country for 7 years.
I served 5 successive governments and established two institutions: PITB, which became the main reform engine for the government with over 300 projects in Punjab and other provinces, and ITU, which in just 5 years, became one of the premier technology universities of Pakistan with close to 100 PhD faculty members.
Plan9, PlanX and e-rozgaar paved new avenues of entrepreneurship, innovation and employment for the youth of Pakistan.
I am truly proud of all my team members. 1,700 fantastic professionals at PITB; 112 faculty members at ITU.
In the end, I served for as long as I could — beyond provincial boundaries and political divides — and gave it all I had. I am sure those who come in future will take these institutions to new heights. Pakistan zindabad!
Winner of Sitara-e-Imtiaz Award, Dr. Saif is also serving as the Vice Chancellor of Information Technology University.
In April this year, Dr Umar Saif was appointed as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Chair for using Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD).
Dr Saif is also known for his work on using ICT solutions for developing-world problems. He is also the founder of Plan9, Pakistan’s largest startup incubator and is often credited as one of the main forces behind the IT ecosystem in Pakistan.
Saif holds a BSc degree from the Lahore University of Management Sciences and PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar at Trinity College.
Saif’s work on grassroots technologies received the MIT Technovator Award in 2008 and he was named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum in 2010.
Finally
race jeetne ke do tarike hote hain. ya khud mehnat kar ke agey niklo ya samne wale ko gira do.
If you know what i mean.
Well said.
Good decision, Faiz ul Hassan Chohan should be made the Chairman, his in depth knowledge of Social Media will enlighten every one in the Province.
You nailed it.
Bechara Be-RozGar Ho Gaya “
Have little bit of etiquette. Disliking his choices does not mean you get to hate or insult him as well. He is tens of times more accomplished than your entire breed shall ever be.
Well this proves your only concern is posting a useless comment.
hahahaha 100 true bhai is banday ki batain aisi hoti hain k jee chahta hay saray mil kar is ki thukai ki jaye but yeh dheet jb bhi nhi sudharnay wala
I am 110% sure that he will continue to work as ITU vice chancellor. He loves nothing more than teaching – such a noble profession. I bet all of the coins I have in my wallet. It is simply impossible for him to abandon the university he has so lovingly built.
I wish too
Let’s be honest.
What did PITB really achieve in the last 7 years besides spending a lot of money and building the ex Chair’s cult?
When are we going to get a PITB audit? How many profitable ventures has Plan9 spawned, how many productive grads from ITU? What public service projects were actually completed? How are those IT towers doing, and what AI and robotics excellence was gained?
Thanks for speaking the truth.
Hope someone takes some action and bring the facts to the surface.
Most people in the industry know what you have mentioned is 100% true.
Received hate for sharing same on Twitter.
When people have no answer they’ll send hate.
THIS.
Mr umer is capable and brilliant. BUT, there is no use of that capability when he has achieve NOTHING for PITB. What has they done apart from being cronies to PMLN Govt? What’s the upgrade?
THIS.
Mr umer is capable and brilliant. BUT, there is no use of that capability when he has achieve NOTHING for PITB. What has they done apart from being cronies to PMLN Govt? What’s the upgrade?
Great!
Umar Saif was more of a publicity stunt. Producing close to zero result after spending billions of this poor nation. None of his projects are actually used by any department. The current government must audit the cost benefit analysis (impact) of so called projects completed by him and place a solid industry veteran then an academic with zero real life experience. During his six years tenure he never even bothered to work / collaborate with the industry other then supporting his own circle of friends.
He was the finest and most productive IT leader that Pakistan produced. He put Punjab far more ahead of other provinces in ICT. It’s so regretting that this government has only disappointed by its every single decision. We thought Imran would do some merit as he always harped. But his choices of CMs, his cabinet, all around are just a bunch of Bhaands (CH. Fawad the biggest bhand).
I would love to have some examples from you about her exceptional achievements regarding Punjab, which put this province ahead of others.
The merit or previous performance has nothing to do with this government. Those were just political slogans. Who can see any merit in removing the likes of Umar Saif and Najam Sethi with proven track record of their best performance. Or Who can see any merit in his recent transfers of IGs, hs selection of CMs, his cabinet (a bunch of BHAANDs), his special advisors in the form Zulfi bohkari, babar awan, …. His is good only for enmity. He is good only for ditching Nawaz. If that’s his distinction, pakistanis are very unfortunate that even the most idea PM turned into so uncappable person.
Compare Dr Faisal (KPITB) vs Dr Siaf (PITB) You will clearly get who actually did something productive and who is just just attention seeker !!
How IT projects were awarded? Audit needs to be done.
Motorway Police has more than 80 developers on there payroll and still they awarded there IT projects to PITB strange need to audited
For real?
Why they need 80 devs?
Very Bad Decision. He is a qualified gem, not like thug politicians.
Right about now, qualified gem, or, a disqualified gem? You decide sire. Though he is still in disbelief. Still going around media outlets to vent out his frustration. So much so he has not updated his twitter bio to reflect his removal from PITB chairmanship. His fake as well as real twitter followers are awaiting change. I guess he has something cooking, and he can get his seat back any time. He is an agent of those powers which shall not digest his removal. Simpletons think he was powered by Shahbaz Sharif and i pity these simple clueless explanations.
He had already spent 7 years as chairman PITB which was more than enough! Was he expecting a lifetime chairmanship? No way. The correct way is to advertise the chairman position on expiration of contract instead of giving endless extensions. By having more than 300 developers inhouse, PITB was competing with IT industry instead of giving projects to the local industry to build its capacity.
A qualified gem, in the pocket of cronies
A qualified gem, in the pocket of cronies
Operation “Punjab banao Afghanistan” is in full swing.
Really? It takes some special mind set to fall THIS low.
Really? It takes some special mind set to fall THIS low.
While everyone is swooning over him, even the intelligent and educated people are not able to notice that Dr. Umar Saif, a Cambridge PhD, has unfortunately been behaving as an eyewash. If he can alter the facts of his schooling age, what else can be expected of him? He claims to have done his PhD in three years when he was just 21 years old. It dose not require to be a rocket scientist to conclude that he should have been just 8 years old when he was in Class 9 at Aitchison College. Now, the educated, intelligent lot who are gushing their praise on his “symbolic achievements”, should tell me whether a sane mind would accept this logic of being the First Youngest Pakistani Doctorate claim? Do you think the administration of the college would have allowed him to skip classes and enroll in the O-Levels at the age of 8? Why would Dr. Umar Saif even think of doing such kind of publicity in the first place? This reflects the kind of mindset which is very unfortunate and unlike for someone claiming to be a high achiever in a profession which is based on ethics, integrity and honesty. I for one, would not even consider someone even further anymore who has deliberately put forward himself with such an absurdity and who has been moving heaven and earth in seeking and building throughout his tenure with tax-payers’ money his false image day in and day out in all these years as Chairman PITB and Rector ITU. And the output is just nada, zilch, in million years. What else is left to talk about his accomplishments. Unfortunately, there are many imposters in the country who have wasted enough resources and time and given nothing to this country. All they have is “great stories to tell” and their “past accomplishments” as if they had done a great favor by accepting the job to “serve” this country. Suck ilks are a scourge on this country who have international backing for not letting any concrete effort muster up momentum for development. They have also discouraged the talent wherever it appears as they feel insecure and therefore, keep lugging to power and authority.