PESHAWAR: At the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, a public-sector degree-awarding institute in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the continued appointment of a Project Director for the past 10 years has become a mystery, despite the institute having been completed several years ago.
Even after the Rector was appointed, the Project Director has been retained and adjusted within the institute at a high salary in the same role. The institute has repeatedly submitted PC-I proposals for various projects, but none have yet been approved by the government. A summary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also surfaced, revealing that the removal of Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute’s Project Director, Naseer Khan, was formally approved. However, surprisingly, no official notification was issued to implement the decision. The subsequent disclosure that he was later absorbed in the university has further deepened concerns surrounding the case.
According to sources, the institute did not even have a sanctioned post of Project Director. Despite this, Naseer Khan, aged 68, was not only retained but was also absorbed by the Rector in the institute service, though he retired in May 2018 on attaining the age of 60 years from the University of Peshawar. This development has raised serious questions about administrative transparency and adherence to rules.
Documents show that Nasser Khan was initially appointed as a temporary Project Director in 2016 and was later regularised in the same position. Even after his 2-year contract was completed in January 2019, he continued to serve in that role. In 2021, the Higher Education Department prepared a summary recommending his removal because a Rector had already been appointed in the institute. The summary was approved by both the chief minister and governor, but it was never implemented.
Critics argue that after the establishment of the institute and the appointment of a Rector, there was no functional need for the position of Project Director. Continuing the post and later absorption reflects procedural lapses and may have heavy financial implications for the institution. Questions are also being raised as to how a purely project-based position was converted into permanent absorption without any provision in the statutes of the institute.
Responding to these concerns, 68-year-old Project Director Naseer Khan told this correspondent that he wished to clarify the matter point by point for proper understanding. He maintained that he is still serving as Project Director and that the institute’s original PC-I is currently under consideration for extension, albeit with a reduced cost framework. He added that several new projects are underway, including the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Allied Health Sciences, for which the PC-I has already been submitted to the Higher Education Department. He also noted that the chief minister had earlier inaugurated a government-sponsored medical college at the institute.
Addressing the summary, he stated that there appeared to be a misunderstanding within the Higher Education Department. He explained that the Project Director, along with 26 other officers, was shifted from the HED-funded PMU to the university’s regular payroll. He pointed out that the PMU had initially been funded for only two years, after which all positions were incorporated in the PC-I and funded directly by the university. According to him, these 27 posts still exist and remain fully functional.
He further stated that all 27 individuals were placed on the university payroll, and if any others were relieved elsewhere, they were not part of this transferred structure. He added that the department later reviewed the matter and acknowledged the factual position. He also noted that similar arrangements exist in other universities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Project Directors continue to serve on institutional payrolls.
In response to a question regarding the KP project policy — which does not allow project employees to be regularised in institutions — he argued that such policies do not uniformly apply to semi-autonomous bodies governed under Acts passed by the provincial assembly. A general policy, he said, cannot override statutory provisions backed by law. Public sector universities, he maintained, have the authority under their respective Acts to manage and transfer project-based employees.
On the issue of regular employees, Naseer Khan stated that statutory provisions primarily apply to permanent staff. Contractual, temporary, and ad hoc employees are generally not part of the statutory rolls but are reflected in PC-I documents and budget approvals. Even daily wage staff, he noted, are not included in statutes and, therefore, such rules do not apply in the same manner to non-regular employment categories. The Project Director did not respond when asked about his reported monthly salary of Rs2.5 million.
He emphasised that in his case, the position of Project Director and 26 other posts were duly included in the PC-I approved on April 11, 2018, with salaries allocated in annual budgets. He added that employees initially hired under a federally funded project were later absorbed by the institution based on the expertise they developed during the project period.
When asked how a 68-year-old person can continue as Project Director, he replied that this is a matter for the institute and its BoG to consider. He added that both appear to be fully satisfied, and that the rules are silent on the issue.
A few questions regarding the legal status of Project Director and his absorption were sent to the Rector of the institute, but no written response was received. However, when contacted, Mohammad Mujahid, Rector of the Pak-Austria Institute, stated that the project director’s version represents the official position.
