A notification was issued by the cabinet secretariat under the sub-section (5A) of Section 6 of the Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002.

"In terms of sub-section (5), read with sub-section (5A), of Section 6 of Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002, as amended vide Higher Education Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, Dr. Tariq Banuri has ceased to be the Chairperson, Higher Education Commission forthwith and is accordingly removed from the said post, with immediate effect."

In 2018, the then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had appointed Banuri as the HEC chairman for a four-year term. However, he came under fire recently when the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an investigation against Banuri alleging that he misused his powers.