The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended a notification to remove Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Sheikh Akhtar Hussain. A single bench of IHC, comprising Justice Miangul Hassan heard the petition of Sheikh Akhtar challenging a notification of his removal as CEO of DRAP.
After suspending the notification, the IHC bench also permitted the petitioner to resume his duty. The court also issued notices to the respondents, including Ministries of Finance and National Health Services, DRAP, the Establishment Division and others to submit their replies in this matter.
Sheikh approached the IHC against his removal by the health ministry for allegedly having fake degree. Last week, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had informed the Ministry of National Health Services that it could not recognise DRAP head's PhD degree as it was obtained from a non-chartered university.
The petitioner had earned his PhD degree from Sri Lanka's The Open International University (Colombo), which was not enlisted as the HEC-chartered universities. The ministry had requested the HEC to verify the degree of CEP DRAP Sheikh Akhtar Hussain.
In a letter to the ministry, the HEC had said as per information contained in international directories such as Handbook of Universities and International Handbook of Universities published by the UNESCO as well as information placed on official website of UNESCO, the university is not listed amongst the chartered universities/ institutions of Sri Lanka.
In late January, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had been asked by a private citizen, Nazakat Mehmood, to verify the authenticity of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) chairman Sheikh Akhtar Hussain's academic credentials. In response to that request, the HEC stated that Hussain claimed to hold a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) in pharmacy from the Open International University of Colombo, Sri Lanka dating back to 2000.
However, the HEC said the varsity is not included in the HEC's list of international chartered varsities. In fact, the HEC on its website has declared the university 'illegal and fake.' Moreover, the HEC said that the varsity was not included in the list of chartered universities or degree awarding institutions of UNESCO.
Hence, the ministry decided to remove Hussain from the post. "It has therefore been decided that Sheikh Akhtar Hussain, shall cease to work as the chief executive officer of DRAP with immediate effect and until further orders," read the notice signed by Administration-II Section Officer Saeed Awan. It further stated that "the officer concerned is directed to report to the ministry of NHSR&C, immediately."
In the last week, the same IHC bench had also issued notices to the secretaries of cabinet division, health services and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) over the appointment of the drug regulator's chief executive Shaikh Akhtar and directed the respondents to submit their reply within a week.
The court had issued these directions after hearing a petition filed by DRAP Deputy Director Dr Abid. During the hearing, Dr Abid's counsel had contended that the HEC did not verify the degree of DRAP's chief executive.
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