Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, is expected to operate according to merit, transparency, and the statutory procedures laid down in the Quaid-i-Azam University Act, 1973. However, a long-running dispute involving a senior academic has raised serious concerns that these principles may not have been properly followed.
Dr. Asif Ali, a mathematician at QAU, was appointed Professor of Mathematics under the Tenure Track System (TTS 1.0) through a duly advertised position published on 11 July 2009. His appointment followed external peer review, was recommended by the Selection Board in August 2015, and was formally approved by the University Syndicate in September 2015, the University’s highest statutory authority. A notification issued on 22 October 2015 confirmed his appointment with effect from 26 February 2011.
However, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan later reassessed this appointment based on two key errors.
First, HEC treated Dr. Ali’s case as a promotion rather than a fresh appointment, even though the position had been publicly advertised and filled through a regular selection process.
Second, HEC applied the Model Tenure Track Statutes Version 2.0, instead of Version 1.0, which was the applicable framework when the position was advertised. TTS Version 2.0 was adopted by the University only on 25 August 2009, more than a month after the advertisement of the position on 11 July 2009.
In addition, TTS Version 2.0 itself required approval by the President of Pakistan as Chancellor of QAU before coming into force. Such approval was never granted. Despite this, Dr. Ali’s appointment was reassessed under these later statutes.
As a result, a legally valid appointment approved by the University Syndicate was reopened and questioned under rules that were not applicable to the advertised position and were not properly in force, creating an unnecessary administrative bottleneck and triggering years of dispute.
Acting on this interpretation, the University issued a notification on 5 September 2016 demoting Dr. Ali from Professor to Associate Professor. Dr. Ali challenged this decision through administrative and judicial channels.
In 2017, after giving him a personal hearing, the Syndicate itself resolved that the demotion should be withdrawn, subject to endorsement by HEC. However, HEC continued to treat the matter as a promotion case and declined to endorse the appointment.
The case continued to move through various committees and administrative reviews. In January 2023, a committee constituted by the Acting Vice-Chancellor examined the complete record and concluded that Dr. Ali fulfilled the eligibility requirements under TTS Version 1.0, the statutes applicable to his appointment. On the basis of this finding, the University issued a notification on 23 March 2023 restoring his professorship and withdrawing the earlier reversion order.
However, on 23 February 2024, the Syndicate again reversed this restoration and reverted Dr. Ali to Associate Professor (BPS). This decision effectively overturned an earlier statutory appointment without a fresh Selection Board process and without initiating the disciplinary procedure required for reduction in rank under the Quaid-i-Azam University Act, 1973.
This long-running dispute raises serious questions about governance and due process in Pakistan’s public universities:
• Can a statutory appointment approved by a university’s highest authority be reversed years later by applying rules that were not in force at the time of advertisement?
• Can administrative interpretations override the statutory autonomy of a public university?
• Can an academic appointment be effectively undone without following the procedures required under the University Act?
Under Section 9(3) of the Quaid-i-Azam University Act, 1973, the Chancellor of the University- the President of Pakistan- has the authority to review the proceedings of the Syndicate to ensure that they comply with the law and the University’s statutes.
We therefore respectfully request the President of Pakistan, as Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University, to examine the legality and propriety of the Syndicate’s proceedings of 23 February 2024 and determine whether the impugned decision should be annulled in order to uphold transparency, statutory compliance, and the rule of law in university governance.
Sign this petition to support fairness, due process, and academic integrity in Pakistan’s universities.