THIS is with reference to the article ‘Exempt from accountability?’ (April 17) which made several accusations about the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) and has wrongly linked it with the removal of Dr. Tariq Banuri from the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
To set the record straight, the late Prof. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui and Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, two of the most famous scientists of Pakistan, were involved in the development of this international centre as successive directors from 1966 to 2002. Prof. Rahman retired as ICCBS director some two decades ago and has not been involved with the centre in any administrative or financial capacity since then. The centre has been built and sustained with international grants from Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other countries as well as donations from the Husein Ebrahim Jamal Foundation and the Dr. Panjwani Memorial Trust.