Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan : Peshawar High Court extends stay against Ehtesab Commission’s enquiry

Varsity counsel says EC failed to provide comments sought by court.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday extended the stay against Ehtesab Commission’s (EC) investigation into Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM). The varsity has been accused of illegal appointments and corruption in some projects.

A division bench of Justice Irshad Qaiser and Justice Roohul Amin Khan also sought written comments from director general of the commission to explain his position in the enquiry the commission has initiated against the university in question.

NAB v/s EC

Abdul Latif Afridi, the counsel for the university, told the court an enquiry regarding the same matter was being conducted by National Accountability Bureau Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administration was “fully cooperating” with the accountability body. However, he added, the EC started looking into the same issue, despite NAB’s investigation. Hence, Afridi added, the varsity’s registrar had approached the court to declare the EC enquiry illegal.



“When a federal investigation agency is conducting any enquiry then the provincial investigation agency cannot do the same simultaneously,” added Afridi. “The commission had issued notices to its administration for provision of information which is illegal.”  Afridi said the high court issued a stay order on the last hearing and sought comments from the commission which have not been submitted so far. The court then extended the stay order, restraining EC’s enquiry into AWKUM.

Digging for information

NAB started an enquiry into alleged illegal appointments on all ranks in Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan after it received multiple complaints. In the meantime, the EC also started an enquiry and issued several notices to the university on different dates, asking the administration to provide information regarding appointments made between 2010 and 2014 and some construction projects.

“We received several complaints regarding irregularities in appointments,” a NAB official told The Express Tribune at the previous hearing on June 24. “We asked the university to provide complete records of the subject.” The official had said the bureau was looking into cases of around 1,400 appointments.

The deputy director of NAB Coordination Complaint Cell asked the vice chancellor of the university on January 23, 2014 to provide the complete records of the university in connection with an enquiry regarding irregularities in appointments.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2015.