Court stays ICU Selection Board meeting

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stayed Selection Board meeting of Islamia College University (ICU) called for promotion of professors in the university to be held today.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim Khan stayed the meeting in a writ petition of Dr Shazia Yaseen, associate professor of the university.

The court also issued notice to vice-chancellor to submit reply in the petition. During hearing, Muhammad Ijaz Sabi, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that Dr Shazia Yaseen had got PhD degree from Cambridge University and her over 54 research papers had been published in international magazines so far.

The lawyer submitted that she was appointed as associate professor in 2008 in the Physics Department. He pointed out that a professor post has been vacant in the Physics Department since 2015 and her name was proposed several times for the post, but she was deprived of her this right due to hurdles and opposition of some authorities in the university.

He informed the bench that since 2015 other associate professors in different departments were promoted to professor posts but authorities concerned had adopted discriminating attitude towards the female associate professor.

The counsel submitted that the Selection Board committee of the ICU is going to hold a meeting today for the promotions of the professors and again the promotion of professor of Physics Department was not included in the agenda list.