The University of Karachi (KU) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have been ordered by the Sindh High Court to provide all records of the university's PhD in law degrees earned between 2014 and 2019. Since no one showed up to represent them, a two-judge panel led by acting Chief Justice Irfan Saadat Khan also reissued notices to the Pakistan Bar Council, Secretary Universities & Boards, Sindh, and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sharmila Farooqui. In a petition to the SHC, attorneys Zulfiqar Ali and Khalid Mehboob claimed that the University of Kansas had only granted Ms. Farooqui a PhD in law last month because of "favoritism, political influence, and in total violation of court order, law, rules, and merits".
Additionally, they claimed that despite the SHC's February order for the KU to stop offering its PhD in law program right away until it received approval from the commission and met all HEC requirements, the university was still offering the program and conferring degrees. The SHC then served notice on all respondents and the provincial law officer. Some attorneys presented power of attorney (vakalatnamas) at the beginning of the hearing on Thursday on behalf of the vice chancellor, registrar, and other KU and HEC officials, and they requested copies of the petition with annexure. The petitioners' attorney was instructed by the bench to provide the same.
The bench again issued notices to the remaining respondents as well as the Sindh advocate general for Nov 8. “In the meanwhile, respondents No.1 to 6 were directed to provide record of PhD law admission, examination documentation, results, thesis and degrees of students enrolled and awarded doctorates in PhD law form the year 2014-19,” the bench said in its order. The petitioners had also contended that there were grave illegalities and nepotism in PhD law admissions and exams since admittedly there was no written or oral record available with the KU in respect of admissions of PhD law students from 2014 to 2019. They sought directives for respondents to cancel the PhD degree awarded to Ms Farooqui and all such degrees issued between 2014 and 2019 as well as the PhD law degrees awarded to those students who claimed to be enrolled during such period.
