PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday accepted a petition of Associate Professor Shazia Yaseen of Islamia College University’s Department of Physics and directed the university’s administration to place her promotion case before the selection board.

Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani pronounced the order after the counsel for the petitioner and ICU administration completed arguments.

The petitioner had challenged the non-placement of her promotion case on the agenda of selection board which was scheduled to meet on Dec 7.

Associate Prof Shazia Yaseen alleges ICU admin discriminating against her

The court had few days ago stayed the holding of the said meeting.

Lawyer for the petitioner Ijaz Khan Sabi said his client currently served as associate professor at the ICU’s Department of Physics and her promotion was due.

He said Dr Shazia was highly qualified and had done PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Mr. Sabi said the petitioner appointed associate professor to the university in 2008 had published 54 research papers in journals of international repute.

He said a post of professor had been vacant in the department since 2015.

The lawyer said the petitioner’s name was proposed several times for the said post but she was denied the right as her case wasn’t placed on the agenda of the selection board during the last many meetings.

He said certain quarters in the university had been creating hurdles to her promotion.

Mr. Sabi said several associate professors had been promoted in different departments since last year but the authorities had been discriminating against her in this respect.

He said the mala fide intent of the university’s administration was visible as once again it didn’t include the petitioner’s case on the agenda of the selection board’s next meeting.

The lawyer requested the bench to declare illegal the non-placing of the petitioner’s promotion case on the selection board’s agenda.

EXPLANATION SOUGHT: A high court bench consisting of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Ayub Khan issued notice to the interior ministry seeking explanation on a petition filed by the widow of a slain Frontier Corps soldier to seek full compensation under the Shuhada package.

Petitioner Naheed Bibi claimed that her husband, Zar Mohammad, served in Frontier Corps in Mohmand Agency before he was killed in an operation against militants in 2011.

Her lawyer, Mohammad Nasir Ghalzai, said the government had paid cash compensation to the petitioner under the Shuhada Package but didn’t give other benefits, including free education for children, a residential plot and other facilities.

He requested the court to issue directives to the federal government for the provision of all sought-after benefits to the petitioner in line with the Shuhada Package.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2016