Investigation into misuse of pension money at Urdu University in Karachi

Karachi: According to Dawn, the administration of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science, and Technology (FUUAST) in Karachi has been accused by retired teachers and staff of depriving them of their pensions and retirement benefits for a number of months, leaving many of them in dire financial straits.

Employees who resigned between 2017 and 2024 have not received their pensions for the last four months, according to Tausif Ahmed Khan, a retired associate professor and chairperson of FUUAST’s Committee for Resigned Teachers and Non-Teaching Staff.

In addition, many retirees have been waiting much longer for their various post-retirement perks. Khan pointed out that the grief of their bereaved families has been made worse by the fact that six of the 80 impacted pensioners have already gone away.

The seniors’ health problems, which need frequent medical care and for which they rely on their pensions, have made their financial difficulties much worse. Khan said, “Pension is our right, not a charity being given by the government.” He called the university’s actions “illegal and inhumane,” claiming that instead of paying the retirees their dues, the institution had placed its excess funds—which totaled more than PKR 500 million—in a private bank.

Khan further said that the vice-chancellor (VC) of the university decided to put the money, which included PKR 100 million from November’s earnings, in a private bank in Islamabad, in defiance of explicit orders from the federal ombudsman to utilize the excess funds to pay the retirees.

According to him, the money was invested at the Bahria Enclave Branch of Habib Bank when a bank manager who was connected to the university’s accounting authorities was in charge. Dawn said that once the manager was transferred to Bank Alfalah, the money was transferred to his new branch without the university’s syndicate’s consent.

Concerns have increased when Khan confirmed that, contrary to what some officials have said, the university’s regulations do not limit the usage of cash for the Karachi campus. The Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) spokesman, Tariq Iqbal, assured Dawn that the HEC offers grant-in-aid to public sector institutions without regard to campus differences, leaving it up to the universities’ statutory bodies or syndicates to decide how to distribute the funds.

The VC claimed that no additional obligations were outstanding and that just October’s pension was unpaid when contacted for comment. Additionally, he claimed that the money was invested prior to his time as vice chancellor.

But according to Dawn, Khan has demanded an inquiry into the alleged financial mismanagement and ordered Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the pro-chancellor of the institution and Federal Minister for Education, to act quickly.

According to Khan, “If we aren’t paid our pensions and other dues, we will be forced to go on a hunger strike from January 2025.” The problem is still ongoing.