Three doctors from Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) in Larkana have not returned to Pakistan after completing their PhDs abroad under a federal government scholarship program that cost $129,600.
The issue surfaced during a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Nisar Khuhro, which reviewed the university’s audit objections for 2022 and 2023.
Officials told the committee that seven SMBBMU doctors were selected in 2016 for overseas doctoral studies under a federal Higher Education Commission (HEC) project funded through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). Three of them did not return after completing their degrees.
The vice-chancellor identified the doctors as Dr. Shah Alam Solangi, who went to China; Dr. Zafar Ali Abro, who studied in Germany; and Dr. Benazir Abbasi, who went to London/Ireland.
Each doctor received a monthly stipend of $1,200. The university spent $3,600 a month on the three scholars, amounting to $43,200 annually and $129,600 over four years.
Audit officials questioned the university’s failure to take action against the doctors, stating that the matter had resulted in a loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer.
When Khuhro asked about efforts to recover the funds, Dr. Nusrat Shah said the university had filed a petition in court, but the case remained pending and officials did not know the doctors’ whereabouts.
She added that the doctors had submitted land documents as security and signed agreements before leaving Pakistan. The university would pursue the auction of the pledged land to recover the money once the court issued its decision, she said.
The PAC took serious notice of the matter and directed SMBBMU to contact immigration authorities and the relevant embassies regarding the three doctors. The committee also instructed the university to recover the full amount spent on their PhD scholarships.
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