ISLAMABAD: As many as 73 petitioners, former students of the National College of Computer Science, which is now called University of South Asia, filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court through the legal team of Yasser Latif Hamdani and Barrister Omer Azad Malik, advocates of the high court. The 73 petitioners are aggrieved of the fact that their degrees dating back to the year 2000 are not being verified and validated by the HEC. The University of South Asia is a chartered body established through two acts of provincial assembly, the Institute of South Asia Act 2003 and the University of South Asia Act 2005. The Higher Education Commission, the main respondent in the petition, had promised the petitioners that their degrees would be validated and verified after re-issuance by the University of South Asia. With the exception of one petitioner, none of the other petitioners has been issued degrees. The one petitioner who has been issued a degree as per the guidelines of the HEC has nevertheless been denied validation and verification by the HEC despite repeated promises. Yasser Latif Hamdani, the legal counsel, told the press that there were no less than 2,700 other such students who had been denied their constitutional rights to life and trade through the arbitrary, capricious and ultimately malicious actions of the HEC and the University of South Asia. Hamdani has called upon the remaining students to join in the litigation in Islamabad to ensure that justice is finally served and a long-standing issue is resolved through constitutional means. The students of NCCS/USA have been suffering greatly: being denied jobs, immigration and prospects for further education. Published in Daily Times, June 22nd, 2017.