Serious violations of the relevant law and rules have surfaced in the appointment of the Dean of Law at the University of Karachi (KU) by the Universities and Boards Department, it has emerged.
According to sources, following the resignation of former dean Barrister Zeeshan Adhi, the KU forwarded a panel of names for the post. However, instead of selecting a candidate from the vice chancellor’s recommended panel, the Chief Minister’s House appointed Barrister Sarfraz Metlo as dean of law of its own choosing.
Under the applicable law and statutes, the chief minister is required to appoint a dean from among the names recommended in the panel. Despite this, the appointment was made contrary to the vice chancellor’s advice.
Sources further claimed that the earlier appointment of Barrister Zeeshan Adhi as dean was also made in violation of rules. The panel submitted by KU at the time reportedly included the name of Justice (retd) Qazi Khalid, founding vice chancellor of a law university and a former judge of the Sindh High Court, and Advocate Tariq Ali.
The he Sindh High Court had earlier struck down the 2020 notifications regarding the appointment of the dean, Faculty of Science at the KU, declaring them unlawful and directing fresh appointments on merit. The bench, comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, had observed that the principle of seniority was ignored in the process.
The court noted that Prof Syed Jamil Hassan Kazmi, a grade-22 senior-most professor, was overlooked, while other candidates included Prof Dr M. Abid Hasnain and Prof Dr Nasira Khatoon. It further observed that the process lacked transparency and that the summary sent by the Universities and Boards Department did not accurately present the facts.
The court had ruled that the appointments were made with mala fide intent and in violation of legal requirements, consequently setting aside the notifications dated June 4 and Nov 3, 2020. It directed the authorities to conduct fresh interviews of eligible candidates, including Prof Kazmi and Prof Khatoon, and decide the matter within two weeks strictly on merit and seniority, also emphasising adherence to transparency and the law in future appointments.
Following the ruling, the Universities and Boards Department was compelled to decide the Dean of Science appointment in accordance with merit. When contacted, Sindh chief minister’s spokesperson Rashid Channa said he was unaware of the matter and advised seeking a response from the Universities and Boards Department. Secretary Universities and Boards Abbas Baloch maintained that no wrongdoing had been committed and that the appointment of Barrister Sarfraz Metlo as dean of law was made after obtaining legal opinion from the provincial law department. Attempts were made to contact Barrister Sarfraz Metlo for comments, however, no response was received till the filing of this report
