SHC seeks govt’s response on controversial Sindh universities law

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on a petition against the Sindh Universities Amendment Act (SUAA) 2018 on Friday issued notices to the provincial government and other respondents and sought their detailed replies.

According to details, Pasban-e-Pakistan President Altaf Shakoor had challenged the Sindh Universities Amendment Bill 2018 through a constitutional petition (2009/2018).

A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry heard the petition in which the petitioner has prayed to declare the SUAA null and void.

During the hearing, the government’s lawyer complained that they had not received the copy of the petition. However, Advocate Irfan Aziz, the lawyer of the petitioner, said they have already provided the copy to the government lawyer and they have also handed over the copy to him in the court.

However, the SHC directed the respondents to submit their detailed reply by September 5.

The petitioner has submitted that the law was passed with malafide intention and it would close doors of education to students of urban areas of Sindh.

It was argued that after the passage of the act, the government universities are no longer independent institutions as the government representatives would occupy eight to ten seats in their syndicates. The higher education in Sindh would gravely suffer if the law was not annulled, it was further said.