Gomal University faces fresh allegations over hiring scandal

Gomal university is in the grip of scandals after scandals but the KPK authorities, especially higher education minister Meena

Areeb Zaidi

DI Khan:
Gomal university is in the grip of scandals after scandals but the KPK authorities, especially higher education minister Meena Khan, is unmoved and unwilling to remove controversial vice chancellor Zafar Iqbal so that impartial inquiry is conducted.

Officials of Gomal University, requesting not to be named, told Minute Mirror that the number of allegedly fake degrees has run into tens of thousands. If the allegations of issuance of fake degrees are proved it is going to be the worst ever scandal of not only the Higher Education Department of KPK but the entire country.
At the same time, the real scandal that has rocked the higher education sector of the country is conduct of allegedly illegal selection board in the university. Through this one single selection board the vice Chancellor Zafar Iqbal made over 220 recruitments from grade 17 to grade 21 in a week. It is humanly impossible to hold so many interviews in one single week in one single selection board but the provincial government representatives Shafi Jan and Shaukat Yousafzai declined to comment on this matter.
The HED KPK constituted a committee comprising Dr Usman Ghani, Director IMSciences and Dr Mohsin Habib Deputy secretory finance department om 08-01-2026, to investigate complaints of sale and purchase of jobs through this controversial selection board which has no legal precedence in the history of the country.
Minute Mirror acquired a copy of this inquiry report and presented it before country’s leading lawyer Ch Sharafat Ali who has drafted many laws for the country. Ch Sharafat Ali said that it seems this report is written by VC of GU who actually is accused in this case.
He said that the fundamental principle for forming an inquiry committee is to fix the responsibility which is only possible if the number of members of the committee is odd. “From the formation of two-member committee, one thing is certain that the HED of the KPK has its mind preset. Now if you look at its findings, for example, you will find that the committee gives clean chit to VC Zafar Iqbal by stating that decisions of the selection board cannot be challenged whereas the decisions were the very thing that complainants has challenged,” he said.
The learned lawyer said that the formation of the selection board is squarely illegal in the absence of the permanent registrar of the university but Dr Usman Ghani-led inquiry committee failed to understand this legal point because they had no background in law or regulations.
Because the committee was incompetent tom investigate legal matters it failed to address any complaints and now the complainants have started to issue open letter to VC Dr Zafar Iqbal. The translation of the second open letter as follows:
Open Letter to Mr. Zafar Iqbal
(Vice Chancellor, Gomal University, D.I. Khan)
Respected Sir,
A year ago, I applied for the position of Lecturer in Computer Science. For this purpose, I paid a substantial amount as a test fee. I appeared in the test, and afterward I was called for a teaching demonstration (demo). Following the demo, I was invited for an interview and appeared before the selection board.
Now, a day before Eid—which may even have been a public holiday—many candidates have already received appointment orders. Since the entire process lacked transparency and was conducted behind closed doors, complete information is unavailable. However, it is known that at least eleven individuals from the Computer Science Department have received appointment orders. Nearly all of them were MS degree holders, while we PhD holders were overlooked.
My demo went very well, and the demo stage should have been the point where candidates’ teaching abilities were properly assessed. Interestingly, all candidates who appeared in the demo were called for interviews. During my interview, I was only asked about my name, the completion of my PhD, and my research publications. I was also asked why I had not yet joined a university. Around 20 to 22 candidates were interviewed within approximately one and a half hours. In such a short time, it was simply impossible to conduct a detailed and fair evaluation of any candidate’s abilities. Therefore, it is difficult to understand what criteria or formula were ultimately used for selecting candidates. On the other hand, some selected candidates were those who, during the demo, had brought copies of their presentations with them and were memorizing them like schoolchildren.
So, Mr. Vice Chancellor, if merit was not going to be the deciding factor, why were we made to go through this entire process? I spent approximately 25,000 to 30,000 rupees and lost six days of my time: two days for the test, two days for the demo, and two days for the interview, as we had to travel from Bannu to D.I. Khan a day in advance each time.
Sir, if the decisions had truly been made on merit, all these details would have been published on the university’s website. I already earn a respectable salary and generate additional income through my professional skills in the market. But are you personally satisfied with this entire process? From an ethical standpoint, do you believe it was appropriate to put us through all these stages if certain individuals were already destined to be selected?
Mr. Vice Chancellor, you are of my father’s age. Some of my words may sound unpleasant to you, but my grievance is not that I was not selected. My grievance is that our time and money were wasted.
Ayaz Wazir
PhD in Computer Science

(This is a developing story and more reports will be covered in it in the days to come)