Balochistan Public Accounts Committee orders recovery of Rs91.565m from ‘absconding scholars’

Quetta: The Balochistan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the recovery of Rs91.565 million allocated to scholars who failed to return from foreign scholarship programs, alongside directing the University of Balochistan to pursue legal action against the defaulters and their guarantors. These decisions emerged from a PAC meeting held to review audit concerns over the University of Balochistan's financial and administrative operations, encompassing allegations of financial mismanagement and scholarship-related misconduct.

The committee's deliberations addressed an audit objection regarding scholars who embarked on international studies funded by scholarships but subsequently neglected to return to Pakistan or resume their roles post-study or dropout. Drawing from prior directives issued on March 7, 2023, and August 7, 2019, the University of Balochistan was instructed to collaborate with the Balochistan chief secretary and engage the FIA, NADRA, and the Foreign Ministry to implement measures aimed at returning these scholars to the country.

The committee further mandated legal proceedings to recover the Rs91.565 million expended on the implicated scholars from either the individuals themselves or their guarantors.

Additionally, the PAC highlighted instances where guarantors and scholars were closely related by blood, prompting a directive for future scholarship allocations to prohibit guarantors from being close relatives of the scholarship recipients. This measure was adopted to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and ensure transparency in scholarship administration.