The federal government on Saturday made the announcement of the removal of Higher Education Commission chairman, Tariq Banuri, with immediate effect.
The notification issued by the cabinet secretariat stated “In terms of sub-section (5), read with sub-section (5A), of Section 6 of Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002, as amended vide Higher Education Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, Dr. Tariq Banuri has ceased to be the Chairperson, Higher Education Commission forthwith and is accordingly removed from the said post, with immediate effect”.
Earlier, in a major development, Prime Minister Imran Khan formed a Cabinet Committee for disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) which proposed a Presidential ordinance to remove Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) top brass including its chairman Dr Tariq Banuri.
The CCLC meeting was chaired by Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem, which was also attended by other members included Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, Minister for Narcotics Control Muhammad Azam Swati, Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Minister for education Shafqat Mahmood, PM’s Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Zaheer ud Din Babar Awan, PM’s Advisor on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Attorney General for Pakistan, Secretary Law and Justice Division and a nominee from Prime Minister office.
According to the sources, except Chaudhry Fawad Hussain all other members unanimously agreed on introducing the Ordinance. Hussain, however, in his dissenting note pointed out some legal hitches that may become a barrier in approval procedure of the Ordinance.
Dr Banuri was appointed in 2018 during the tenure of PML-N when Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the Prime Minister. The premier, as per rules is the controlling authority of the HEC. Abbasi picked Dr Banuri out of the four names forwarded to him by a six-member search committee for final selection.
Banuri holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University and an M.A in Development Economics from Williams College.
