KARACHI: The retired faculty and staff members of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science, and Technology (FUUAST) have appealed to Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, to intervene regarding their unpaid pensions, which have been pending for the past three months.

The appeal was made during a meeting chaired by Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, convener of the organising committee for retired university employees, on Thursday. A resolution passed at the meeting called on Dr. Siddiqui and MQM’s Aminul Haque to address the issue of the pending pensions. It stated that FUUAST Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari had committed to paying the outstanding pensions and post-retirement dues of the employees but failed to fulfil his promise.

Despite the university administration admitting in the Federal Ombudsman court that it has excess funds exceeding Rs500 million, the administration is still delaying the payment of monthly pensions and post-retirement dues. The resolution highlighted that the university owes Rs300m in post-retirement dues to its retired employees.

The resolution also noted that the Vice Chancellor’s defiance of the Federal Ombudsman’s orders could lead to contempt proceedings against him.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2024