UET Peshawar sacks project director of Jalozai campus

PHC has suspended the notification issued by the university

PESHAWAR: On the recommendation of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Complaint and Redressal Cell, the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar has terminated the project director Establishment of Jalozai Campus.

The sacked director had filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court following his removal, after which the court suspended UET Peshawar orders until further notice.

The notification issued by the UET Peshawar on July 20, 2017 stated that the contract of Engineer Syed Liaquat Shah as the project director stands expired, which will not be extended further. It further stated that Assistant Professor Dr Muhammad Saqib will replace him as the new project director. Shah was also directed to handover the charge, along with necessary documents, to the newly-appointed director immediately.

However, Shah refused to follow the directives issued by the UET management and locked the director’s office for the new director.

He accused the UET management of sacking him based on personal interests. “I have requested authorities in UET Peshawar to explain the grounds on which I have been removed, he said, adding that they failed to present any substantial evidence against him.

Shah said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated an inquiry against the finance department of UET Peshawar, and he had been appointed as the focal person. He alleged that the management is unhappy with him for providing evidence to the NAB.

The former director said that he had been appointed in 2014 on merit and was later given three-year extension by the UET Peshawar Pro-Vice Chancellor. The departments concerned had also requested the university administration to not remove him before the completion of the project, he added.

UET Peshawar Registrar Dr Khizar Azam confirmed the termination of the former project director in light of the complaint against him.

While the former director has challenged the university’s decision of sacking him, his contract will not be renewed by the university, Azam said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2017.