HEC chairman takes over IIUI’s top post temporarily

Islamabad:Chairman of the Higher Education Commission Prof Mukhtar Ahmed has assumed the role of the acting rector at the International Islamic University Islamabad.

The development follows his appointment by the president of Pakistan, who also serves as the IIUI chancellor, on the Supreme Court's orders. The court had declared that the HEC chairman or any other member of the commission, should serve as the acting rector until a permanent appointment is made.

Earlier, IIUI Vice President Prof Ahmed Shuja Syed was made the acting president of the university after the removal of Dr Samina Malik, who held the key position after the completion of Dr Hathal Homoud Alotaibi’s four-year term in July. Her appointment was struck down by the Supreme Court after being declared against the law.

Prof Mukhtar, an esteemed academic leader with extensive experience in higher education, will serve in this interim capacity while the capital city's leading university awaits the appointment of regular rector and vice president. He has a distinguished career in higher education management, having previously served at the HEC as the chairman from 2014 to 2018, as the executive director from 2013 to 2014 and as the member (operations and planning) from 2005 to 2011.

Prof Mukhtar also has significant international experience, having worked as deputy director general at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in Morocco. With a strong academic background, including degrees from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad and the University of California, Riverside, he has over three decades of experience in educational development and management at national and international level.

His career spans both the public and private sectors, with contributions to policy development, educational research, and the promotion of international collaborations, besides teaching and administration. Prof Mukhtar is widely recognised for his efforts to reform the country's higher education system, improve access to university education, enhance quality assurance mechanisms, and seek increased funding and infrastructure development in the sector.