PISJ-ES principal illegally held 2 public service positions: Haq

It was illegal under Pakistani law for the sacked principal of the Pakistan International School Jeddah-English Section (PISJ-ES) to have held two public service jobs, a prominent Pakistani leader said here Wednesday.
Raja Zafarul Haq, leader of the House in the Pakistani Senate and secretary-general of the World Muslim Congress, was speaking exclusively to Arab News about Sehar Kamran, the sacked principal of the PISJ-ES.
Kamran became a member of Pakistan’s Upper House of Parliament in 2012 on a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ticket.
She has been at the center of a major controversy here because she refuses to vacate the principal’s position despite being fired on Tuesday by Mohammed Naeem Khan, the Pakistani ambassador.
She has instead accused embassy officials of playing “dirty politics.” She also faces a range of corruption allegations including mismanagement of funds, gross indiscipline and favoritism. She denies the charges.
Haq, who is here to perform Umrah, said Pakistani law forbids a senator from holding another public service job.
He said Kamran did not disclose she was the school’s principal when she became a senator. “We only heard later that she was holding two public service positions,” he said.
He said Kamran’s political party in Sindh had nominated her for the Senate position and that the current Pakistan government was not responsible for her situation.
Haq said the Pakistan Embassy, which is the government’s representative in the Kingdom, had appointed her and had the right to sack her.
Haq was referring to the fact that Kamran was appointed as principal of the school by Ambassador Omer Khan Alisherzai in 2009.
He said the courts might have to take action on the issue. The intervention of the Pakistan government would be determined by the facts gathered about the case, he said.
He urged the Pakistani community here to stay out of politics and be good representatives of the country. He said Pakistan has good relations with the Saudi government and expatriates should try to improve on it.