KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, Feb 10: In a significant administrative decision aimed at strengthening medical education and tertiary healthcare delivery in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered the promotion and regularisation of 23 in-service faculty members of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Medical College Hospital, Bemina. The promotions have been cleared on the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC).
The order, issued by the Health and Medical Education Department under Government Order No. 94-JK(HME) of 2026, dated February 10, 2026, accords prospective promotions to faculty members serving across a wide range of medical disciplines. The decision follows JKPSC communication dated January 29, 2026, and reflects a long-pending exercise to streamline faculty hierarchies and fill senior academic positions at the premier government medical institution in Srinagar.
According to the order, several Associate Professors have been promoted to the rank of Professor, while a larger number of Assistant Professors have been elevated to Associate Professor positions. In the Department of General Medicine, Dr. Tariq Ahmad Bhat has been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor, while Dr. Manzoor Ahmad and Dr. Abdul Ahad Wani have been elevated as Associate Professors. The Microbiology department has seen the promotion of Dr. Arshi Syed as Professor and Dr. Talat Masoodi as Associate Professor.
In the Physiology department, Dr. Farhana Ahad has been promoted to Professor, while Dr. Mumtaz Gowhar has been elevated to Associate Professor. Similarly, in Radiology, Dr. Mohammad Farooq Mir has been promoted as Professor and Dr. Imran Nazir Saroo as Associate Professor, reflecting a strengthening of senior academic leadership in this critical diagnostic specialty.
The order also covers promotions across core and super-specialty disciplines. Dr. Syed Qubitiyah Khursheed of General Surgery, Dr. Aliya Shah of Biochemistry, Dr. Semira of Pharmacology, Dr. Ayaz Rehman of ENT, and Dr. Asif Ahmed of Pediatrics have all been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. In Chest Medicine, Dr. Mir Elias has also been elevated as Associate Professor, while Psychiatry faculty member Dr. Nizam Uddin has received a similar promotion.
In Pathology, Dr. Bushra Rashid Shafq has been promoted as Associate Professor, and in Community Medicine, Dr. Beenish Mushtaq has been elevated to the same rank. The Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics has witnessed promotions at both senior and mid-senior levels, with Dr. Anjum Malik being promoted as Professor and Dr. Sami Jan as Associate Professor, strengthening academic supervision in women’s healthcare services.
The Anatomy department has also received a boost, with Dr. Ashfaq ul Hassan promoted as Professor and Dr. Rohul Afza Kaloo elevated to Associate Professor. In Dermatology, Dr. Farah Sameem has been promoted to the rank of Professor, marking a key advancement in a specialty witnessing rising patient footfall in Kashmir.
Welcoming the development, Principal SKIMS Medical College Prof Dr Fazl Q Parray congratulated all the promoted faculty members and termed the decision a well-deserved recognition of their academic commitment, clinical excellence and years of dedicated service. He said such promotions not only acknowledge individual merit but also strengthen the institutional framework by ensuring experienced leadership across departments. Prof Parray encouraged the newly promoted Professors and Associate Professors to treat their elevation as a greater responsibility towards students, patients and the institution, urging them to further raise standards of teaching, research and patient care, and to continue working with renewed dedication to make SKIMS Medical College a centre of excellence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The government order specifies that all promotions and regularisations shall take effect prospectively and shall remain subject to the outcome of writ petitions, if any, pending before courts of competent jurisdiction. The order has been issued with the approval of the competent authority and has been issued by Secretary to the Government, Health and Medical Education Department. Officials said the move is expected to improve academic stability, enhance teaching standards and strengthen healthcare delivery at SKIMS Medical College Hospital, which caters to patients from across Kashmir and adjoining regions.
