HEC ED: SC gives govt one week to respond for violating prescribed rules

Petitioner argues that new Executive Director appointed by establishment division in violation of HEC ordinance.


Azam Khan December 10, 2012
HEC ED: SC gives govt one week to respond for violating prescribed rules

ISLAMABAD: The controversy surrounding the appointment of a new Executive Director at the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) landed in the Supreme Court on Monday.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heading a three-judge bench of the apex court, issued notices to the federal government and the new acting ED of HEC Major (Retd) Qamaruz Zaman for allegedly violating the appointment rules of the commission (HEC).

Anwar Mansoor Khan, the counsel for petitioner, who was introduced as concerned citizen, told the court that in less than a year, the government has for the second time attacked the autonomy of the HEC and removed the Executive Director in violation of set rules and proscribed manner.

“It is sheer violation of HEC Ordinance’s section 11 that says that only HEC is appointing authority of ED, while being controlling authority Prime Minister does appoint the chairman of HEC,” adding that in this case notification of new ED was issued illegally by cabinet and establishment division.

Wasim Sajjad appeared on behalf of the HEC and supported the petition, saying that executive has no say in the appointment procedure of executive director.

The chief justice was surprised to hear that ED of HEC Sohail Naqvi was replaced by the government.

An official of HEC, Nasir Khan, handed over a document to the court in which chairman HEC Javed Laghari asked the new acting ED of the commission to start the process of hiring the new executive director immediately.

Responding to Sajjad and Khan’s plea, the chief justice said that the court could have issued a stay order in this regard but the HEC chairman himself entrusted upon new acting ED of the commission for process of appointment of new ED of HEC and now we will take up this case on December 17.

 

COMMENTS (20)

Factual | 11 years ago | Reply

Umar Baloch: Can Pakistan afford to employ anyone on the rates paid by developed countries? what a crap argument! It was not a matter of 3500 US$ or 4500 US$, Dr. Naqvi and Ata have a life-long gold mine in the shape of HEC; they will die but would never leave it!

Umar Baloch | 11 years ago | Reply

@Jibran: Your calculation is just a sad part of your ignorance. I've recently done Ph.D and I know the salaries of university professors abroad. Being a postdoc, I'm getting 4500 $ per month from Canadian government which translate into 450000 Pakistani rupees. Dr. Sohail Naqvi (check his credentials on HEC website) was brought to Pakistan by Dr. Rehman on meager sum of 3500$ per month, less than that an average postdoc gets in Japan, Switzerland and Canada. Ignorant people like you make funny calculations in Pakistan. What a joke in this country. Perhaps, a jahil will ask for B.A. pass bureaucrat viz. Qamar Zaman to decide the future of higher studies and universities in Pakistan ???

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