PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday summoned the respondents, including secretary of the health department, in a case about the controversy surrounding a recent appointment to the Khyber Girls Medical College Peshawar.

Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Roohul Ameen Khan fixed Dec 15 for the hearing into the petition of former KGMC principal Professor Iqbal Begum against a clause in a recent agreement between the provincial government and the doctors about appointment of the college’s principal.

The bench sought separate explanations from the health secretary and Professor Abid Hussain, who was a signatory to the agreement and wanted to be appointed as the KGMC principal, about the petition.

Ijaz Anwar, lawyer for the petitioner, said his client was a professor in gynecology at the KGMC and was subsequently appointed the project director at the newly-established Gajjo Khan Medical College in Swabi.

He added that the woman was later transferred from the said post and appointed the principal of KGMC.

The lawyer said prior to his client’s appointment, Professor Abid Hussain was appointed the principal of the college but since that was against the rules, the order of his appointment was withdrawn.

He said as the controversy persisted between health professionals and the provincial government over the implementation of the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015, the two sides held negotiations before reaching an agreement.

The lawyer said as Dr Abid belonged to an influential group of doctors and was himself present in the negotiations, a clause was included in the agreement regarding appointment of the KGMC principal.

He said in that agreement, it was decided that the notification of the petitioner’s appointment would be cancelled and instead the issue would be referred to the board of governors of Hayatabad Medical Complex, the constituent teaching institution of the college.

The lawyer said in an illegal manner, the provincial government had held in abeyance the notification of his client’s appointment as the college principal.

He said he feared the provincial government would replace the petitioner with Dr Abid Hussain.

The lawyer said the inclusion of a clause regarding service matter of an individual was based on mala fide intentions and illegal.

He also said the KGMC was the only government medical college for women in the province and therefore, it was appropriate for the government to appoint a woman as its principal.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2015