PAC Demands Financial Reforms at University of Balochistan Amid Growing Crisis

The Public Accounts Committee of the Balochistan Assembly highlights a severe financial crisis at the University of Balochistan in light of recent audits and ongoing teacher protests. The PAC stresses urgent reforms for financial transparency, increased income generation, and accountability for misuse of funds and resources.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly has raised concerns about the worsening financial crisis at the University of Balochistan, underscored by their review of financial accounts from 2019 to 2021, audit observations for 2021 to 2023, and ongoing teacher protests over unpaid salaries, as reported by Dawn.

During a meeting chaired by PAC Chairman Asghar Tareen, members including Fazal Qadir Mandokhail, Rehmat Saleh Baloch, Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah Kakar, and University Vice Chancellor Zahoor Ahmed Bazai discussed the findings. They noted financial and administrative irregularities, with issues dating back to misuse of the endowment fund in 2016, which facilitated unqualified individuals’ international education trips, some of whom went missing.

PAC’s focus on past recruitment practices by former vice chancellors revealed nepotism, as hundreds of relatives were hired under questionable circumstances. The committee also highlighted the university’s obligation to pay pensions to 900 retirees and discussed the impact of reduced student enrollment and cuts in financial grants from the Higher Education Commission. They called for recovery of misallocated funds and enforced stricter measures against rule violations, especially concerning the distribution of 370 laptops between 2013 and 2014.

(With inputs from agencies.)