The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Federal Government to fill the slot of Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) within 15 days. A single-member bench comprising Justice Shoukat Aziz Siddiqui resumed the hearing of a plea filed by Khawaja Aurangzeb through which he had sought the appointment of a regular Chairman, HEC.
During the course of proceedings, Federal Secretary Ministry of Education, Training & High Standards in Higher Education, Muhammad Ahsan Raja, who was summoned by the bench, apprised the court that the prime minister has turned down the summary sent by the ministry for the appointment of chairman HEC. He said the Prime Minister constituted a new committee under the Chairmanship of Federal Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif for the appointment of Chairman, HEC.
Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, while expressing displeasure on the non-appointment of Chairman HEC remarked that despite government assurances, the chairman HEC had not been appointed and added it would be better that the government itself appointed the chairman HEC within 15 days or else the Pandora's box of ministers' rift would be unveiled in the court. According to him, the chairman HEC`s office is a statutory position and non appointment of a permanent HEC chairman is a very serious matter.