150 prominent citizens demand withdrawal of HEC (Amend) Ordinance
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April 26, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Some 150 prominent academics and civil society leaders have written a strongly-worded open letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan demanding the withdrawal of the HEC Amendment ordinance and restoration of the HEC as an independent national regulatory body.
The government had promulgated the HEC (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 on 25 March 2021, through which the tenure of the chairperson was reduced from 4 to 2 years, the current Chair Dr. Tariq Banuri was removed from his position, and HEC was placed under the Federal Ministry of Education.
The signatories of the letter include senior educationists, vice chancellors, journalists, former ambassadors, generals and other government officials, parliamentarians, and human rights activists. They include such names as LUMS founder Syed Babar Ali, human rights activists Ms Hina Jilani, Harris Khalique and Karamat Ali, Council of Islamic Ideol