Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that her daughter, Dr Ayesha Ali, was appointed “purely on merit” and her appointment as an assistant professor in the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) is needlessly scandalised. Dr Ayesha Ali, who had been working as a foetal medicine specialist in a British teaching hospital, has been appointed as an assistant professor at Lahore’s KEMU. Foetal medicine pertains to treating babies in mothers’ wombs. Dr Ayesha chose to serve her homeland shunning a salary equivalent to millions of rupees in the UK. “I don’t know why the appointment is being scandalised. Ayesha’s sole fault is being my daughter. We should encourage doctors serving abroad to work in their homeland,” the Punjab minister said while responding to media reports questioning her daughter’s appointment. Dr Yasmin said four doctors were to be appointed to the gyne speciality. Suitable candidates could not be found for two positions, while two doctors, including her daughter, were appointed purely on merit. With 23-year experience in the medical profession, Dr Ayesha graduated from the KEMU in 1998. She earned several medals during her study. She also taught at a medical college for three years after completing FCPS and then moved on to study at the Royal College of Gynaecologists, UK. She was trained in foetal medicine at the royal college and awarded MRCOG. Dr Ayesha applied for the post after four positions in the KEMU and Fatima Jinnah University were advertised in newspapers as approved by the HEC. Dr Ayesha said the questions about her appointment were frustrating. Doctors abroad willing to serve their homeland should be welcomed, she added. KEMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal said that Dr Ayesha was the only candidate possessing a double fellowship and she was appointed after approval by the syndicate and the board. After the appointment, she proceeded on a four-week leave to the UK to finish her job there, he maintained.