The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Friday raised concerns over validity of the postgraduate doctoral degree of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sheikh Akhtar Hussain on Friday.
DRAP CEO Sheikh Akhtar Hussain had earned his PhD in Pharmacy from the Open International University, Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2011. However, the university is not mentioned in HEC’s list of international chartered varsities. In fact, the HEC on its website has declared the university as “‘illegal and fake”.
On January 24, a citizen Nazakat Mahmood formally requested the HEC to investigate the authenticity of Sheikh Akhtar Hussain’s degree.
In December last year, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s federal cabinet confirmed Akhtar Hussain’s appointment as DRAP CEO for a period of three years.
His appointment was controversial as Hussain had previously faced multiple corruption cases. He allegedly had himself declared dead to ensure that the cases against him were shelved. Hussain has been contacted for a comment and a reply is still awaited.
Published in Daily Times, January 26th 2019.
