ISLAMABAD: The appointment of Dr Mukhtar Ahmed as the chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) was challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday.

On April 15 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Dr Ahmed as the permanent chairman of the commission.

The post had been vacant since August 2013 when former chairman Dr Javed Laghari’s four-year contract expired.

Mr Sharif approved Dr Ahmed’s appointment a day after Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC, while hearing a petition seeking the appointment of a regular HEC chairman, directed the secretary education to expedite the process of appointment.

During the hearing on April 14, Education Secretary Mohammad Ahsan Raja told the court that in February, the prime minister rejected a summary for the appointment of the HEC chief from a list of three names – Dr Ahmed, Dr Najma Najam and Dr Niaz Ahmed – and constituted a new ‘search committee’ headed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Challenging the appointment of Dr Ahmed, the petitioner Ikramullah Ikhlaq contended that on April 14 the education secretary had informed the court that “the newly-constituted search committee had started its function” and the court directed (the secretary) “to take up the matter with the appointing authority”.

The petition states that the process undertaken by the first search committee had been under great criticism.

Candidates were short-listed without proper homework and without considering their qualifications and relevant working experience.

The candidates were also asked to submit a statement of up to 2,000 words explaining their vision for the HEC but the nominated candidates were exempted from this exercise. In addition, the education ministry was not represented on the committee.

It maintains that the reconstitution of the new search committee was appreciated by people from all walks of life, including the candidates themselves, but the competent authority instead of waiting for the proposals of the new committee finalised the name of Dr Ahmed on the basis of the first committee’s recommendations.

The petition alleged that the HEC chairman’s appointment was not made in accordance with the principles laid down by the superior courts in judgments on identical matters.

It asked the court to declare the appointment of Dr Ahmed illegal. The IHC registrar office, after scrutinising the petition, fixed it for hearing before Justice Siddiqui. The bench is expected to take up the matter on Tuesday (today).