Health Diary: Of dual nationality of KMU vice-chancellor

PESHAWAR: In what seems to be an unprecedented politically-motivated move, the issue of dual nationality of Khyber Medical University vice-chancellor Prof Arshad Javaid was put forward to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for discussion by a member of an opposition party.

The issue has since been forwarded to the governor for inquiry and appropriate action. Khyber Medical University is one of the very few universities in the country that has seen an increase in growth in both teaching and research while maintaining sound financial health in the last few years.

The issue seems to be planted by the vested interest elements has led to a debate in official circles. Some people in KMU were of the view that rather than appreciating the work done by the present vice-chancellor, the opposition party member deemed it appropriate to use his dual nationality as a stick to beat the government and sabotage the work of Higher Education Department (HED) of KP for the selection of the vice-chancellors of the KP universities.

Some senior government officials also noted that it should not come as a surprise that this issue has been raised at a crucial time where the provincial government will be considering the extension of tenures of some vice chancellors of various universities, who delivered different than others.“This whole fiasco has been politically motivated at the behest of others eyeing these positions. It has already been proved who and who played what sort of role in this issue,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

In KMU, the faculty members said, the university in the last two years had initiated a number of PhD programme in health professions education, four MPhil programmes in dental sciences, an MPhil programme in human nutrition, postgraduate diplomas programme in family medicine, postgraduate certificate programmes in health professions education, and palliative care, and four Bachelor of Science programmes.

Additionally, the Pakistan Nursing Council in recognition of the increased number of faculty at KMU Institute of Nursing Sciences has allowed the university to induct 100 students in each batch, compared to the 50 previously.

The KMU Institute of Dental Sciences was finally recognised by the PMDC in 2018, four years after the commencement of classes. All deficiencies regarding human resources and infrastructure were rectified and the institute passed its assessment with flying colours. The university has also more than tripled its research input and outputs in the last two years. The university also takes the credit of successfully streamlining the entrance test and admissions for all medical and dental colleges of the province.

“The way ETEA test was conducted professionally and transparently, it is widely believed that it annoyed certain quarters as their near and dear ones could not get admissions in medical colleges due to merit-based criteria. And it seems to me some high-ranking politicians were not happy with Prof Javaid as he had reportedly refused to entertain their demands,” said one senior faculty member in KMU.

He said the way the issue was raised had hurt the vice chancellor and KMU staff alike. “Instead of appreciating academic achievements, the opposition member in the assembly thought the issue of dual nationality more appropriate for discussion on the floor of the assembly, especially at a time when our country needs both monetary and intellectual investment from the outside, to be able to compete at a global level through a knowledge-based economy,” opined the faculty member. He said there was a reason why the greatest seats of learning, be it Bukhara, Samarqand, Oxford or Cambridge, have always been the ones that had the greatest diversity and openness, always attracting the best minds without the consideration for caste, colour, creed, religion or nationality.

“Pakistanis from different fields are heading various educational institutions around the globe because of their talent, and the most prominent is a previous executive director of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan who currently heads the University of Central Asia. To make our educational institutions great, we must attract the most capable people to run them, who are brought on merit and without consideration for their passport or nationality,” said the KMU staff member. Prof Arshad Javaid is not a foreigner. He is a Pakistani national and has served for more than 25 years at various health sector institutions of KP.

Like many other foreign qualified Pakistanis, Prof Javaid acquired dual nationality during his training in the UK about 30 years ago. He has officially declared his status as a dual national to the Higher Education Department of KP in March 2018.

The issue of dual nationality of four vice chancellors and numerous faculty members of KP universities has been forwarded to the law department for comments in light of the Supreme Court rulings.

The position of Prof Javaid and countless others serving the country in different institutions of Pakistan can perhaps be best explained by a 2018 ruling of the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan:

“At the cost of repetition, persons in Category A are essentially citizens of Pakistan who are additionally also citizens of any of the 19 countries mentioned above. There is no restriction in the Constitution on persons in Category A from being employed in the service of Pakistan. Furthermore, since persons in Category A are Pakistani citizens, they fulfil the requirements for employment as Federal and Provincial civil servants under the applicable rules as well as enrolment in the Army, Air Force and Navy under the applicable Acts, as discussed in detail above. There also does not appear to be any general prohibition on persons in Category A being employed by or in autonomous/semi-autonomous statutory bodies/organizations and companies, etc which are owned/controlled/governed by the Federal and/or Provincial Governments. Certain restrictions could, however, exist in the specific statute, law, rule or constitutive document applicable to each body which would have to be examined on a case-to-case basis.”

“The statements regarding dual nationality in the extract reproduced hereinabove do not have a direct bearing on the instant matter which differs somewhat from the issue before the court in Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi’s case7 (supra), which concerned the Framers’ intent and the Constitutional bar against dual nationality on elected representatives. However, no such bar exists in the Constitution with respect to the non-elected government officials who are not required to take oath as the others are required to including elected representatives and members of the armed forces. Be that as it may, we cannot lose sight of the fact that divided loyalty does not necessarily mean disloyalty to Pakistan. There are many dual nationals or even foreigners of Pakistani origin for that matter who possess great love and affection for Pakistan and express it in the form of foreign remittances or by working in Pakistan, etc. Nonetheless, a real concern as raised by the opponents of dual nationality is that of divided loyalties leading to potential national security risks. It is in the light of both the advantages and disadvantages of dual nationality that leads us to consider the adoption of a balanced approach where certain important positions in government service and public offices where indeed complete and undivided loyalty to Pakistan is required ought to be restricted to those who are citizens of Pakistan only. At the same time, keeping the door open for the Pakistani diaspora abroad who are an immense source of talent, skills, experience, and competence, dual nationals and foreigners of Pakistani origin (and even non-Pakistani origin for that matter) ought to be allowed to work in various public and private sector entities in Pakistan such as health, education, etc where they can share their wisdom, training, skills and learning and contribute to a better Pakistan”.

(P L D 2019 Supreme Court 133: Muhammad Ibrahim Shaikh versus government of Pakistan, in the presence of Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, Umar Ata Bandial and Ijazul Ahsan, , decided on December 15, 2018.)

It is evident from the ruling of the honourable Supreme Court that having a dual nationality should not be a detriment to the development of our institutions but rather encouraged to foster diversity and bring the best talent to Pakistan. Perhaps our parliamentarians can take cognizance of this fact and realize the importance of the numerous Pakistanis with dual nationalities working for the betterment of Pakistan, rather than hindering their progress and inturn the progress of our institutions. The aim of our legislators should be fostering excellence in the youth of the country through the creation of the best possible environment and attraction of the best possible minds to the seats of learning. Inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness should be the mantra of education country, for education really has no boundaries.