ISLAMABAD - Defying the Supreme Courts directives, the Implementation Commission on 18th Amendment is all set to finalise the draft of new legislation about the fate of Higher Education Commission and get it approved from the Parliament. It has been learnt that Implementation Commission overstepping its mandate in the light of the Supreme Court decision - wherein the court has clearly stated that the HEC is fully protected under the 18th Amendment and cannot be devolved to the provinces and it shall remain intact unless its status is changed by the promulgation of some legislation - has almost finalised the draft behind closed doors which is not the mandate of the Implementation Commission. Since higher education falls under the Federal Legislative List, the Implementation Commission has no jurisdiction to deal with issues relating to higher education and/or the functioning of the HEC, thus the Implementation Commission is overstepping its mandate. According to experts, as the HEC does not come under the purview of Implementation Commission so it cannot legislate regarding the Commission and only the Council of Common Interest (CCI) can draft a legislation which can be sent to the Parliament for approval following procedures. The Council of Common Interests has been formed under Article 153 of the Constitution and is comprised of the Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers of the provinces, and three members from the government. The functions of the CCI are enumerated under Article 154 of the Constitution as, The Council shall formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of the Federal Legislative List and shall exercise supervision and control over related institutions. Anything which comes under Part II of the Federal Legislative List has to be supervised by the CCI. Since various functions of HEC fall within part II of the Federal Legislative List, the HEC Ordinance cannot be amended or repealed without the prior approval of the CCI. If CCI approves an amendment to HEC Ordinance or repeals it, the Parliament would still need to pass an appropriate law for this. The Implementation Commission has so far not consulted any stakeholder regarding the new legislation despite the fact that Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq had assured the SC that all stakeholders would be taken on board before the matter was decided and Chairman Implementation Commission Raza Rabbani has also said on many occasions that the vice chancellors, HEC officials and academicians would be invited for deliberations while making new law. The HEC officials have also written to the Implementation Commission to invite them for consultation but they havent got any response from the Implementation Commission and the claims have only been limited to the statements and are not materialised yet. One of the petitioners, who had challenged the dissolution of the Commission in the SC, said that it was a clear violation of the Supreme Courts orders and the violation of the Constitution as well and if any such move was made, the decision would be challenged in the apex court again.