GUJRAT: Three more PML-N lawmakers have been nominated as members of the University of Gujrat Syndicate by its chancellor on the recommendations of the Punjab government against five seats of prominent personalities.

Three members of the Punjab Assembly’s treasury benches are already members.

As per the UoG Act 2004, the Syndicate will be the executive body to take effective measures to raise standards besides supervision of affairs and management of the property of the varsity with the vice chancellor as the chairperson of the Syndicate and the registrar as secretary.

As per the act, the Syndicate must comprise three members of the Punjab Assembly nominated by the speaker. A few weeks ago, the speaker nominated three MPAs -- Nawabzada Haider Mehdi and Imran Zafar from Gujrat and Abdul Rauf Mughal from Gujranwala district -- for the body.

According to the UoG act, five prominent persons must also be nominated for the syndicate by the chancellor and recent nominations against these seats comprised three PML-N legislators, including Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and MNA Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal, MPA Moin Nawaz Warraich and MPA Rana Abdul Mannan, as well as renowned educationist from Lahore Dr Arfia Saeeda Zahra and local medical practitioner Dr Ijaz Basheer.

The PML-N-led Punjab government had some three and a half years ago nominated three stalwarts from Gujranwala division, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Commerce Khuram Dastgir Khan as members of the UoG Syndicate against five seats of prominent figures.

However, all three had not attended a single meeting in the last three years and now the Punjab government obliged three of its other legislators by making them members of the body.

Sources told Dawn the UoG administration had recommended some other names from trade and business and social circles of Gujrat.

The Higher Education Commission chairman, secretaries of provincial departments of higher education, finance and law, Government College University Lahore Vice Chancellor Dr Khaliqur Rehman, the Gujranwala Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education chairman, principals of two constituent colleges and two affiliated colleges and three deans of faculties nominated by the VC and Gujrat executive district officer (education) have also been Syndicate members.