Wednesday, September 25, 2013

SC unhappy with govt’s failure to appoint institution heads

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has expressed displeasure over the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s failure to fill key posts in different institutions.

Hearing a case related to mushroom growth of law colleges in the country, a three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said that many institutions, including Higher Education Commission, are working without heads.

“Why is the government hesitant to appoint chairman/heads of so many institutions like National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) and Federal Services Tribunal (FST)?” said Justice Jawwad S Khawaja.

He asked the attorney general why the search committee has not started its work to find suitable candidates for the slots.

The Pakistan Bar Council had filed the petition, seeking implementation of new rules and procedures for affiliation of new colleges with universities. The bar wants formulation of new rules with the coordination of HEC. The court directed the Punjab University to inspect its affiliated colleges and see if they are fulfilling the procedures.

Additional Attorney General Shah Khawar told the court that Dr Mukhtar Ahmad was executive director of HEC. The court observed that as per rules any member of the commission could serve as chairman of HEC for three months if the slot is vacant. The chief justice also sought a list of universities and affiliated colleges, saying that the “noble profession is being commercialised in the name of different universities”.

The PBC has proposed that a serving judge must be included in the governing body of a college for its affiliation with any university “so that transparency could be ensured”.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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