ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) admitted a petition for regular hearing on Monday against the appointment of Dr Tanvir Khaliq as the vice chancellor of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) and sought a response from the selection committee in a fortnight.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb directed that the appointment of Dr Khalid must not be notified until the petition is decided.

The petition was filed by Dr Mulazim Hussain, head of the histopathology/cytopathology at the University College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Lahore.

The petitioner adopted before the court that he had applied for the vice chancellor position at SZABMU through a newspaper advertisement.

Petitioner, who also applied for the post, said the candidate does not meet criteria set by SZABMU Act

According to the eligibility criteria listed in the ad, the candidate was supposed to have to his or her credit a minimum of eight quality research publications as professor in indexed medical journals recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the petition said.

Referring to an earlier IHC judgement, the petition stated that the court had issued directions for the selection of higher public offices, while in a Supreme Court decision the SC had directed that if a candidate with lower merit is chosen over a candidate with higher merit, the selection committee has to give a valid justification in writing for dropping the higher merit candidate.

The petition claimed that the committee violated the courts directions in appointing a vice chancellor at SZABMU because it allocated 50pc of the marks to the interview, rather than 10 to 15pc. The committee therefore exercised discretionary power to bring lower merit candidates to higher positions by giving the interview portion more weight.

The petition said that he is a Fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) (a level seven qualification) and a PhD (level 8), while Dr Khaliq is only an FCPS and level seven qualifications are not eligible for the post of vice chancellor.

It alleged that the committee violated rule four of the university’s charter, which said the vice chancellor would be selected according to the HEC’s criteria.

In response to the aforementioned advertisement, the petition said, 32 candidates including the petitioner submitted applications for the position. Six candidates were shortlisted and interviewed on May 8, after which the committee recommended three candidates for the cabinet’s approval.

It said that the petitioner was ranked the most eligible of the candidates who applied, followed by Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry Principal retired Maj Gen Dr Abdul Khaliq Naveed.

The petition claimed that the committee recommended Dr Khaliq even though he was not eligible for the post under the SZAMBU Act.

The cabinet approved his appointment on the recommendations of the committee without looking into whether the individual recommended by the committee was eligible according to the HEC’s critera, it said.

The petition said that the petitioner learned that the concerned secretary did not issue a notification despite cabinet’s approval because Mr Khaliq was not eligible for the post. That secretary has been transferred and replaced for someone else to notify this appointment, it claimed.

The petition has asked the court to set aside the appointment of Dr Khaliq as SZABMU vice chancellor.

The court, after hearing the arguments, issued notices to Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari, the Quaid-i-Azam University vice chancellor, HEC executive cirector, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital CEO Dr Faysal Sultan and Benazir Income Support Programme Chairperson/President Dr Sania Nishtar.

The court ordered: “Let the appointment process continue but the same shall be subject to the final outcome of this petition.”

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2019