The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday declared the reappointment of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) Chairperson Shaheen Khan illegal after a petition filed in the court. It is contended in the petition that the post of the FBISE chief was upgraded from BPS-20 to BPS-22 around two years back, and Shaheen Khan, being a 20-Grade officer, lacked qualification to hold the office. The court was also told that Shaheen Khan was reappointed without any consent of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Justice Anwar Khan Kasi held the hearing in which petitioner Nazer Aslam, an employee of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), submitted that the board of governors of the BISE in its 89th meeting held on March 11, 2010, upgraded the post of the FBISE chief from BPS-20 to BPS-22 and Shaheen Khan before her appointment as FBISE chief on September 18, 2008, served as director general sports in the HEC.
The petitioner made secretary establishment, principal secretary to the PM, secretary, Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), secretary, ministry of professional and technical training, the HEC chairman and FBISE Chairperson Shaheen Khan respondents.
Counsel for the petitioner, Sher Afzal Khan, alleged that before joining the FBISE, Shaheen Khan was facing serious charges of corruption and departmental proceedings in her parent organisation. He further alleged that despite the grave charges of plagiarism in respect of her PHD degree, her name was forwarded to the principal secretary to the PM. He stated that in the wake of the disciplinary proceedings pending against her at the time of her first appointment as the FBISE chairperson, her reappointment was against the prestige and esteem of the FBISE.
“Despite the fact that the poor and lethal performance of Shaheen Khan was in the knowledge of the secretary establishment and the principal secretary to the PM, Shaheen Khan got a summary for her reappointment as the FBISE chairperson. The summary was initially turned down by the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) secretary, but when the FBISE was placed under the administrative control of the Ministry of Professional and Technical Training secretary, the summary was submitted to the secretary establishment for her reappointment again without obtaining the consent of the lending organisation. The counsel prayed to the court to declare the reappointment of Shaheen Khan as the FBISE chairperson illegal. However, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Abdur Rehman Siddique defended Shaheen’s re-appointment, requesting the court to overlook the ‘minor flaws’.
After hearing the arguments, the court termed Shaheen’s reappointment illegal.
