The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has restored Zia Batool as the Chairperson of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA).
According to details, a two-member IHC bench, consisting of Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, overturned the judgment of the single-member IHC bench.
The court has also directed the Federal Government and petitioner Imtiaz Ali Qureshi, who is the former Chairman of PEIRA, to submit their responses at the next hearing of the case.
Earlier this week, a single-member IHC consisting of Justice Mohsin Akhtar had declared the appointment of Zia Batool as Chairperson PEIRA illegal.
Zia Batool was notified as Chairperson of PEIRA in October 2019. Former Chairman PEIRA, Imtiaz Ali Qureshi, had moved to the IHC against Batool’s appointment soon after.
After nearly 3 years, the IHC annulled the appointment of Zia Batool earlier this week. Justice Kiyani had also ordered Federal Education Ministry to appoint a new Chairperson at the earliest by adhering to the due process.
Justice Kiyani had also restrained the Ministry from recovering the financial value of the salaries, perks, and privileges availed by Zia Batool since her appointment.
He had expressed annoyance over Education Ministry for not presenting the record of hiring of PEIRA Chairpersons over the years.
Justice Kiyani had also ordered Establishment Division to form a committee to determine whether the record has been lost as claimed by the Ministry and forward the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) if the Ministry’s justification turns out to be false.
However, the two-member bench of the IHC has now overruled the judgment of the single-member bench, meaning Zia Batool will continue serving as Chairperson PEIRA and no further action will be taken against her appointment.
