LAHORE – The Punjab University PR department has issued a notification regarding a story published in the press with reference to continuation of the jobs of retired persons at Punjab University as against the verdict taken by the honourable Supreme Court.
The notification reads: The names of Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Honorary Adviser to VC Col (r) Ikram Ullah, Project Director Sheikh Muhammad Ali and Hailey College of Banking and Finance Principal Amjad Saeed have been quoted in the same context.
The allegations by the PU Academic Staff Association are totally without any foundation and don’t come within the ambit of the Supreme Court ruling at this stage, on the following grounds:
1) As per Punjab University Calendar, there is no bar on appointment of any retired person as Vice-Chancellor. It is a tenure post and the VC once appointed by the competent authority can continue working for a year. Age limit is irrelevant in connection with the post of VC.
2) Recently, the Higher Education Department, Government of Punjab through an advertisement announced 6 vacancies of Vice-Chancellors in which the determined age limit is maximum 65 years and the person once selected can continue working for another four years.
3) So far as the matter of appointment of retired persons is concerned, the Punjab Government has not issued any directive to educational institutions to relieve such persons. Whenever such orders are received, the same will be immediately complied with.
4) Regarding appointment of ex-army personnel falling in this category, they have already been removed from the university following the notification of Punjab Government. So far as the issue of Honorary Advisor to Vice Chancellor Col (r) Ikram Ullah is concerned, his services are entirely on honorary basis. He is not withdrawing a single penny from the Punjab University exchequer. It may be mentioned that as a senior journalist, he has already held the posts of Press Secretary to more than one Prime Minister, Director General Press Information Department, Government of Pakistan and Director General Public Relations, Government of Punjab after his retirement from the Army. Therefore, he doesn’t fall under the Supreme Court’s verdict by any standard.
