ISLAMABAD: Even as the ruling party is under fire for their ‘nepotistic’ style of governance, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has picked the younger brother of his adviser on national affairs to head the leading distance-learning university of the country.

President Mamnoon Hussain, on the advice of the prime minister, on Thursday appointed Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, the younger brother of Irfan Siddiqui, as Vice Chancellor of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).

In addition, the president also appointed Professor Javed Ashraf as the VC of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) and Professor Dr Masoom Yasinzai as the Rector of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

Speaking to Dawn, Irfan Siddiqui said his brother was selected purely on merit. “He is a competent person and was selected on merit, not because he is my brother,” he added.

The prime minister selected the three educationists from a list of nine (three against each post) sent to him by a search committee headed by Education Minister Mohammad Balighur Rehman.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2014