Milestones: First Pakistani law university to offer PhD

SZABUL is the country's first law varsity recognised by Pakistan's Bar Council and the HEC.

KARACHI: Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto University of Law (Szabul) welcomed its first batch of candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme on Saturday.

Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani, a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, visited Szabul's Clifton campus on the occasion. Addressing the faculty, students and dignitaries, he said that the cause of education has suffered a lot in Pakistan.

"I used to teach in the past," he said. "After retirement, I am thinking of going back to teaching and would love to teach here [at Szabul]."

Justice (retd) Dr Qazi Khalid, the vice-chancellor of the university, said that Szabul is Pakistan's first law university that is recognised by Pakistan's Bar Council and the Higher Education Commission.

"This year, the university is welcoming 34 candidates for Phd in law," he said. "The classes will commence on July 22."

Khadim Hussain Soomro is among the 34 candidates who will be part of the PhD programme. He hopes to conduct his research at Szabul.

"When it comes to law education, we lack good institutions and there is a shortage of good graduates who can produce quality research," he said. "Our laws were written in the 1800s. We need to replace them with contemporary laws."

The university is offering a combined five-year programme for Bachelor's of Arts and Bachelor's of Law and a combined three-year programme for Master's of Law and PhD.

The visiting faculty include Dr Farogh Nasim and the former chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2015.