Court stays UoP pro-VC appointment

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has stayed the appointment of the pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Peshawar (UoP) and sought comments from the Higher Education Department secretary, vice-chancellor and registrar of the varsity in the case.

The office of the pro-vice-chancellor will become vacant by the end of the current month on the retirement of the incumbent one. The university has recommended three names for the position, allegedly ignoring the senior most professor in violation of the relevant law.

Prof Dr Yaseen Iqbal, dean, the faculty of Numerical and Physical Sciences, submitted a writ petition through Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel Advocate against the recommendation sent by the UoP for the appointment of pro-vice-chancellor for which the names of three senior most professors are to be sent and considered as per the University Act, but the procedure was allegedly not followed.

Kakakhel argued the case before the division bench of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Syed Attique Shah. He argued that previously his client was de-notified by the governor/chancellor of the UoP and another professor, Prof Dr Qamaruz Zaman, from the faculty of Numerical and Physical Sciences was appointed as dean by the respondents.

The counsel said that notification and de-notification were declared illegal by the PHC but despite that respondents were violating the judgment of the court by showing Prof Dr Qamaruz Zaman as dean on the official website as well as in correspondence.

He argued that his client was not even called for important meetings in which policy decisions were taken and he was ignored and a person whose notification of appointment had already been declared illegal was called by the respondents allegedly to harass, humiliate, torture and degrade his client.

The counsel said the judgment has not been followed and, therefore, the vice chancellor and acting registrar of the university have thus committed contempt of court. He stated that a contempt petition has been filed by his client as well against the above-mentioned persons.