Call to defer FUUAST Senate meeting amid VC salary row

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) have demanded that the upcoming Senate meeting, scheduled for September 3, 2025, be postponed until an inquiry committee’s report against Vice Chancellor Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari and other administrative officials is finalised.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has constituted a four-member committee following multiple complaints from employees of the Karachi and Islamabad campuses about financial irregularities, administrative issues and harassment.

The committee has been directed to submit its recommendations within 15 days.

Senate panel pushes for permanent varsity VCs, revival of student unions

According to officials, most of the agenda items of the 51st Senate meeting are already sub judice in various courts, and any decision could be in violation of judicial orders.

One of the key agenda points concerns the salary of the vice chancellor, which has been at the centre of controversy for several months.

Dr Shinwari is currently drawing a net salary of Rs728,676, based on his 2019 payslip as a retired tenured professor.

According to sources, university officials have fixed his salary under the principle of “pay protection” on March 4, 2024, bypassing the required approval of the chancellor, who is the president of Pakistan.

The HEC, in a letter on June 10, 2024, objected to the arrangement and stated that his salary should have been set at the starting pay of a tenure-track system professor — Rs394,875 — instead of relying on a post-retirement payslip.

The commission also criticised the university’s internal process, which involved the assistant registrar, audit officer and registrar approving the salary fixation without seeking clearance from the chancellor.

In response, FUUAST registrar Dr Sadia Khalil rejected the claims, saying the vice chancellor was drawing the minimum possible salary under university rules and that allegations of inflated payments were “not true.”

Senate members have urged that the September 3 meeting be postponed until the inquiry report is finalised and said that the session should only be called once the committee’s recommendations on the complaints against Dr Shinwari were finalised.

Earlier, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training had sought an explanation about the frequent foreign trips by Dr Zabita Khan Shinwari.

The meeting, chaired by Dr Azim-ud-Din Zahid Lakhvi, discussed administrative mismanagement, poor governance and the grave problems faced by FUUAST faculty.

Committee members voiced strong displeasure over the absence of Vice-Chancellor Shinwari, who was said to be on a foreign trip. They raised concern over his frequent foreign visits and asked the education secretary whether he had obtained an official no-objection certificate for his travel.