PHC suspends appointment of Dr Arshad Javaid as KMU VC

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the appointment of Dr Arshad Javaid as Khyber Medical University (KMU) vice-chancellor till its next order.

A division bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan suspended notification of the appointment of vice-chancellor Khyber Medical University till March 5 in a writ petition filed by Prof Dr Ziaul Islam, an ophthalmologist who was also a candidate for the post.

The bench also sought reply from the search committee for vice-chancellor KMU and secretary to provincial government Higher Education Department before the next hearing.

Dr Ziaul Islam had challenged the appointment of Dr Arshad Javaid in the high court through his lawyers Mohibullah Kakakhel and Saifullah Mohib.

Mohibullah Kakakhel submitted in the court that the post was advertised on November 24, 2016 and the petitioner also applied for the post.

He informed that interview was scheduled on June 18, but the petitioner despite being the senior-most and qualified candidate was not called for interview. He said the petitioner’s name was then included through a court order in the list of those interviewed, but he wasn’t shortlisted.

He pointed out that later inquiries were made and it became known that the selection committee had laid down its own criteria for selection of the vice-chancellor of KMU.

The lawyer submitted that the process adopted by the selection committee is in violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012. He contended that the parameters for selection of vice-chancellor KMU laid down by the selection committee are in contravention of the KP Universities Act, 2012.

The petitioner prayed the court to declare the selection process illegal and in excess of jurisdiction on the part of the committee.

He submitted that the petitioner was not shortlisted for the interview due to ulterior motives of the respondents as they had already selected the respondent number 5 (Dr Arshad Javed) because the whole process was an eyewash.

It was prayed in the petition that the respondents be directed to re-advertise the post and fill it in accordance with the procedure provided by the law and also the principles of transparency, equity and fairplay.