LAHORE - The Higher Education Department (HED) on Saturday issued letters for interview to shortlisted candidates to appoint the Punjab University Vice Chancellor.

All the candidates have been directed by the HED Secretary to appear before the search committee on May 28 (Monday). Some 102 candidates had applied for the top slot of the biggest varsity of Pakistan.

The HED has constituted separate search committees for appointment of VCs for every university.

The varsity was being run on the stop gap arrangement since the former VC Dr Mujahid Kamran was retired. He himself also served as acting VC. He is facing corruption and fake degree charges in the anti graft bodies.

Since upper age limit was extended from 60 to 65 years so many retired people had also become eligible. Former and sitting VCs also applied for the PU headship. Meanwhile, non-PhDs have also become eligible for the VCship.

The Punjab government had forced former provisional VC of the varsity Dr Zafar Moeen Nasir on his refusal to give university land to the government. Later, the new acting VC Dr Zakria Zakir was removed by the Supreme Court on handing over varsity lands to the government. He was also allegedly facing charges of promoting his relative in his department. The CJP Mian Saqib Nisar had ordered the Punjab government to appoint regular VCs in the public sector universities.

The HED had floated advertisement in the newspapers and sought applications.

Those called for interview include Dean Sciences at PU Lahore Shahid Kamal, Director Centre for Coal Technology PU Shahid Munir, Chairman Physics BZU Multan, Chairman Earth Sciences University of Sargodha (UOS) Khalid Mehmood, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif UET Multan ex VC Muhammad Zubair, UOS Professor Muhammad Ashraf, UET Taxila VC Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Dadbhoy Institute of Higher Educaiton Karachi Rector Abbas Ch, Director Plant Protection King Abudl Aziz Univeristy KSA Muhammad Tufail.

Moreover, others are Muhammad Ishtiaq Qadri Head of Department of Biology King Abdul Aziz University KSA, Professor of Molecular Biology PU Tayyab Hussain, National Physics and Standards Laboratory DG, Ministry of Science and Technology Muhammad Iqbal, Fazal Ahmad Khalid VC UET Lahore, Maqbool Hussain Sial Chairman Quantitative Methods University of Management and Technology, Mobashir Ahmad Director Institute of Pharmacy PU Lahore, Islamullah Khan Dean Science and Technology GCU Lahore, former acting PU VC Dean faculty of Behavioral Sciences Dr Zakria Zakir, University of Education VC Dr Rauf e Azam, Riaz Ahmad Dean Engineering GCU Lahore, Dr Mansoor Sarwar PUCIT Principal, Dean Faculty of Arts GCU Tahir Kamran, Executive Director Institute of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Muhammad Awais, Govt College for Women University Sialkot VC Ms Farhat Saleemi, Dr Allah Baksh Dean Agriculture Engineering Faisalabad, Hanif Akhtar Department of Commerce BZU Multan, Tariq Mehmood Ansari Dean Sciences BZU Multan.