ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: There seems to be no end to the ongoing tussle between Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the government.

Although the HEC chairman, Dr Javaid R. Laghari, on Wednesday gave an undertaking to the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Training that new executive director would be appointed through advertisement, there was a ban on new appointments under Management Pay scale (MP), Dawn has learnt.

At a meeting of the standing committee, which was chaired by Abdul Nabi Bangash in Parliament House, Federal Minister for Education and Trainings Sheikh Waqas Akram took strong exception to the press conference by Dr Ataur Rehman, Chairman Pakistan Academy of Sciences.

He said the he gave an impression that the ministry was behind the whole drama in HEC.

“I doubt that Dr Ataur Rehman has done it on the request of Dr Laghari,” he said. However, Dr Laghari said what Dr Ata stated was his personal views and he had nothing to do with them.

Waqas Akram said that the prime minister had also sent a letter to the HEC for the removal of executive director Dr Sohail Naqvi but the HEC chairman was not ready to implement it. “It is strange that HEC could not produce a single capable person within ten years who could replace Naqvi,” he said.

He further informed the committee that the ministry concerned would soon advertise the post as the education secretary, Qamar Zaman, who is already pre-occupied with his ministry’s affairs, could not continue with the current charge of ED.

Other members of the committee also criticised the HEC chairman for refusing the orders of an elected prime minister, and said the parliamentarians would not allow this.

Waqas Akram said that commission had the right to send three names for the post of ED to prime minister it was he who would select one out of them.

HEC had advertised the post of ED but because of ban on new appointments under MP, it deferred the recruitment process and decided to extend the contract of Dr Sohail Naqvi on August 27.

The committee chairman Abdul Nabi Bangash while talking to Dawn said that he was not in favour of giving additional charge to Qamar Zaman.

“I am not going to allow any person in Ministry or HEC to spoil the environment of HEC. Additional charge of ED should have been given to Manager Operations Naseer Ali Khan because he is an educationist and competent person. Bureaucrats had noting to do with matters of higher education,” he said.

Earlier, on Wednesday morning, Qamar Zaman came to his office at HEC and issued a letter through which he said that the notification of the Establishment Division of November 28 was issued in compliance with Prime Minister’s direction so he (Qamar Zaman) would supervise the affairs of HEC.

He further said that ED had the powers to post and transfer and orders of postings and transfers had been issued for smooth running of the HEC affairs and process would continue till the selection of new ED.