Govt contemplating whether to appoint junior Saudi professor IIUI president.

Byline: Kashif Abbasi

ISLAMABAD -- The federal government is considering whether to approve a junior faculty member from a Saudi Arabian university for the post of International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) president.

Sources from the government, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Ministry of Federal Education told Dawn that the Saudi government recently asked Pakistani authorities to appoint a Saudi assistant professor president of IIUI.

The name and credentials of the professor are being scrutinised, they said, and the HEC and ministry have conveyed their feedback to President Dr Arif Alvi, who is also the chancellor of IIUI, informing him that the Saudi assistant professor is too junior to be appointed president of IIUI.

Both the ministry and HEC have told Dr Alvi that if a Saudi national is to be appointed as IIUI president, then Saudi authorities should be asked to nominate a senior scholar for the post. However, Dr Alvi has not yet made a final decision.

IIUI has faced several challenges in the last few years.

Saudi national Dr Ahmad Yousif A. Al Draiweesh is currently president of the university while Dr Masoom Yasinzai is the rector. Dr Draiweesh had gone to Saudi Arabia in March on leave, from where he would occasionally chair virtual meetings of the IIUI.

During...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT