PHC dismisses KMU VC’s plea for three-year extension in tenure

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition by Vice-Chancellor of the Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar, Prof Dr Arshad Javaid, who had sought three-year extension in his tenure.

A two-member bench of Peshawar High Court comprising Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Syed Atiq Shah heard two separate writ petitions filed by Prof Dr Arshad Javaid and KMU Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Ziaul Haq.

The lawyer for Dr Arshad Javaid submitted to the court that his client had not completed his tenure and had not received appointment order from Academic Search Committee and was serving as acting vice- chancellor of the KMU.

On the other hand, Dr Ziaul Haq’s lawyer, Mian Mohibullah Kakakhel, informed the court that Dr Arshad Javaid would complete his tenure as acting vice-chancellor on July 18, 2020. He said Dr Arshad Javaid had applied for extension in his tenure which had been rejected by Higher Education Department of the province.

The lawyer argued that if one vice-chancellor was given extension, then it would become a precedent and other vice-chancellors would seek extensions as well. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shumail Ahmad Butt told the court that some of the vice-chancellors had been accused of corruption and malpractices and this was why now the government wanted to appoint new ones on merit.

He told the court that extension is given on the basis of performance, but the provincial cabinet had a clear decision wherein many of extension applications had been rejected. Meanwhile, a two-member bench of Peshawar High Court comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar summoned Secretary Health and all vice-chancellors of universities on the next hearing of a writ petition filed by students of medical universities pertaining to their examination. The hearing was adjourned till July 30.