BZU VC: SC orders appointment on CM's approval

Court declares the appointment of new VC by Khosa as unconstitutional.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has declared the appointment of the new vice chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan as unconstitutional, Express 24/7 reported Friday.

The appointment was made by Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, who, along with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, had faced criticism for the delay in making a permanent appointment, followed by the torture video that surfaced a while back showing two BZU students being raped and beaten by fellow students.

(Read: Torture video: Chief Justice forms committee to probe charges)

Khosa had arbitrarily appointed Dr Muhammad Zafrullah as the VC, but the Sharif had rejected the appointment and had sent a summary for the appointment of Professor Khawaja Alqama.

The court ordered that the VC should be appointed according to the summary of the Punjab chief minister.

(Read: BZU video: ‘You should’ve accepted my VC choice’)

The court also said that if the governor was not satisfied with the summary or had any reservations regarding the appointment, then he should have returned the summary within 15 days.

Earlier, Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar, representing the governor/chancellor, told the court that the Supreme Court had reserved judgment on a petition by a Bahauddin Zakariya University professor concerning the appointments and the High Court should await the apex court’s verdict.