PESHAWAR: The joint action committee of the University of Peshawar’s teaching and non-teaching employees on Friday accused the provincial government of failing to efficiently manage the affairs of the leading higher education institution and demanded placing it under the administrative and financial control of the federal government.

The demand was made during a protest against the non-payment of the December salaries and pensions by the university.

The joint action committee, which consists of office-bearers of the Peshawar University Teachers’ Association, administrative officers association, Class-IV and Class-III association and sanitation staff, held its general body meeting at the administration block of the university.

The participants at the meeting, which was chaired by Puta president Dr Zakirullah, expressed serious concerns over the non-payment of salaries and monthly pensions for the month of December, according to a statement issued here.

Flay KP govt for ‘failing’ to manage university affairs

After detailed deliberations on the prevailing issues of the University of Peshawar, the meeting unanimously passed a resolution, which stated that the provincial government had failed to efficiently run the financial and administrative affairs of the university.

Keeping in view the poor administration and ignoring the university, the general body demanded that the administration of the UoP should be reverted to the federal government in the larger interest of the students and masses of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The JAC warned the administration of UoP that if it failed to pay salaries and pension without further delay then they would bring further intensity in their protest. “We will also boycott from the academic and administrative activities of the university for which the university of administration and provincial government would be responsible,” reads the resolution unanimously approved by the meeting.

Talking to Dawn, Puta president Dr Zakirullah said that it was a joke with the teachers and other employees of the 75 years old university that they have not paid salaries and pension.

He said that employees and their families were perturbed with the frequent delay in their pension and salaries, saying in such a situation, they see the future of the employees as bleak.

Dr Zakirullah said that the provincial government should amend the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012, and return the historical university to the federal government in the post-devolution regime as the provincial government was not taking interest to solve the financial problems of the institution.

He said that the cash starved UoP has not paid the pension commutation to its employees who retired in 2024, which was their basic right.

“As per the protest plan, we will go for partial boycott of classes if salaries and pensions are not released within a month. We will close the university if demands are not met after the partial closure of the university,” he said.

A senior official of the UoP administration told Dawn that non-payment and a delay in payment of salaries and pensions of the university were a constant issue as the university had been facing a Rs1.5 billion fiscal deficit.

He said that the university needed a Rs5.5 billion budget for the fiscal year out of which it arranged Rs4 billion from federal grant, student fee and other resources.

The official said that Rs1.5 billion annual deficit was ballooning with each passing year which has literally paralyzed the university.

“Right now, the university needs Rs2 billion to overcome the financial issues,” he said.

He said that the Higher Education Commission was decreasing its grant for the last couple of years in a situation where the university budget was increasing due to annual increase in the employees’ salaries.

The official wondered how the university would spend funds on the research and quality of work in a situation when it couldn’t pay salaries and pension to its employees.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026