Disagreements between Punjab Chief Minister and Governor intensify over Vice Chancellor appointments

Disputes between the Punjab Governor and Chief Minister over the appointment of Vice Chancellors in 13 universities have escalated further.

According to sources from the Governor’s House, the Punjab Governor has rejected the recommendations for the Vice Chancellor appointments and sent them back, while the Chief Minister has already appointed 7 Vice Chancellors out of 13 with his approval.

Sources indicate that the appointments of the Vice Chancellors for these 7 universities were made without the Governor’s consent.

The Governor raised several objections while rejecting the recommendations, stating that the process for forming the Vice Chancellor panel was not appropriate and needed to be reviewed, as there was a lack of healthy competition in the panel formation.

The Governor added that while a panel could be sent by the Chief Minister, selections could not be made without proper scrutiny.

The Governor’s House sources emphasized that the authority to appoint Vice Chancellors lies with the Governor, and that transparency was maintained in the panel formation, which was selected after cabinet approval.

On the other hand, sources from the Chief Minister’s House stated that the Governor’s role is merely to sign the documents and that he cannot return the summary.

They asserted that the Vice Chancellor’s appointment, as per law, is valid with the Chief Minister’s approval.

Additionally, Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Punjab University, Professor Shahid Munir as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Engineering Lahore, and Professor Aaqif Anwar as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Education Lahore.

According to the notification, Professor Ahmad Shuja has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Gujrat, Professor Enayat Ullah as the Vice Chancellor of the Engineering University Taxila, Professor Amir Azam as the Vice Chancellor of Khawaja Fareed University in Rahim Yar Khan, and Professor Zubair Iqbal as the Vice Chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan.