PESHAWAR: Vice-chancellor Khyber Medical University Prof Dr Ziaul Haq has been appointed executive director of Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad.

Prof Ziaul Haq is not only the youngest Pakistani educationist to hold this key national office but also the first scholar from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be entrusted with this important responsibility.

Belonging to the remote and underdeveloped district of Upper Dir, he completed his MBBS from the Khyber Medical College Peshawar, followed by a PhD in public health from the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom. He has also served as convener of the Higher Education Task Force established by the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During his four-year tenure as VC, KMU witnessed remarkable progress in governance, financial stability, academic quality, and research output. He transformed KMU into the province’s first paperless university, introducing modern e-filing and e-examination systems.

Under his leadership, Pakistan’s first Public Health Reference Laboratory successfully conducted almost two million Covid-19 tests during the pandemic. Over the past four years, KMU expanded its outreach by establishing 10 remote campuses across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad. Academicians, faculty members, students, and stakeholders in higher education across Pakistan have warmly welcomed his appointment as executive director HEC. They have expressed confidence that he will play a vibrant and decisive role in steering the country’s higher education sector, addressing financial and administrative challenges, and promoting excellence in teaching, research, and innovation nationwide.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2025