MULTAN, June 23: The district council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday urging the provincial authorities not to grant extension to the Bahauddin Zakariya University vice-chancellor on the expiry of his four-year term in office in July this year.

The resolution was tabled by member Hafiz Allah Ditta Kashif Bosan. None among the district council members stood up to oppose the motion. The resolution said the district council appreciated the overall merit policy of the government in postings and recruitments but it wished that the policy should always be across the board.

The university is the most important educational institution in the southern part of the province and the policy of merit needs to be implemented there in letter and spirit in the larger interest of the BZU and its students.

The resolution further said vice-chancellor Prof Dr Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry though had reached the age of superannuation on Nov 14, 2000, but he was retained in the office thereafter.

It was alleged that illegal appointments and educational, administrative and financial irregularities at the university during his four-year term had been the talk of the town.

It was pointed out in the resolution that the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had also submitted a report in this regard to the Punjab governor to seek his approval to hold a regular inquiry into the university affairs under Dr Chaudhry.

The resolution said no official could be given importance more than that of the institutions he or she was serving. The district council urged the Punjab governor and the chief minister to order completion of the pending inquiries against Dr Chaudhry and appoint an honest person as vice chancellor.

It is pertinent to mention here that a summery sent by the chief minister secretariat to seek final approval to order a regular inquiry against the vice-chancellor has reportedly been awaiting the governor's nod for the last two months.

When contacted to get his comments about the district council resolution, the telephone operator at his official residence said that the vice-chancellor was in Islamabad.