PESHAWAR, Dec 10: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday sought comments of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health secretary and the Khyber Medical University on a female Christian student’s petition seeking more seats for minority students in public sector medical colleges in the province.

Justice Nisar Hussain and Justice Ikramullah Khan directed the two respondents, provincial health secretary and the Khyber Medical University vice chancellor, to file written comments on the petition within 15 days.

The petitioner, Ansa Anam, said there were a total of 1800 seats in all public sector medical colleges, whereas only a single seat had been reserved for minorities in Khyber Medical College.

“It’s against the provincial government policy of reserving at least one per cent quota for minorities in educational institutions,” she said.

Mian Mohibullah Kakakhel, lawyer for the petitioner, said the provincial government had formulated a policy according to which one per cent seats had to be reserved for minorities.

He said in other three provinces, five per cent seats were reserved for minorities in educational institutions.

The lawyer said the Peshawar High Court had ruled in the past that the provincial government should fix at least six per cent quota for minorities in educational institutions.

He said the petitioner had cleared her intermediate examination and applied for admission in the public sector medical colleges for which the admission process was carried out by a joint admission committee under the aegis of the Khyber Medical University.

He said the province had seven public sector colleges, including Khyber Medical College, Ayub Medical College Abbottabad, Khyber College of Dentistry Peshawar, Saidu Medical College Swat, Gomal Medical College DI Khan, Khyber Girls Medical College Peshawar and Bannu Medical College.

The lawyer claimed that there were total 1800 seats in all medical colleges and under the policy, there should be at least 18 seats reserved for non-Muslim students.

He said the joint admission committee had called only one student on the said reserved seat for admission, whereas rest of the candidates, including the petitioner, were ignored as there was only a single seat available.