Three doctors from Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) in Larkana have not returned to Pakistan after completing PhDs overseas under a federal Higher Education Commission scholarship.
The issue was raised before the Sindh Assembly Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Nisar Khuhro, during a review of the university's audit observations for 2022 and 2023.
University officials reported that seven doctors were chosen for overseas study under the HEC PSDP scholarship project in 2016, and three of them have not come back after finishing their degrees.
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nusrat Shah named the absent scholars as Dr. Shah Alam Solangi, who studied in China; Dr. Zafar Ali Abro, who went to Germany; and Dr. Benazir Abbasi, whose listed destination was London/Ireland.
Audit officials asked why no action had been taken against the doctors and highlighted the loss of public funds.
The vice-chancellor said the university has filed a court petition to recover the scholarship money, but the case is still pending and the doctors' locations remain unknown.
She added that all three had signed agreements and submitted land documents as surety before departing, and the university will seek to auction the pledged land after the court decides.
The PAC instructed the university to contact immigration authorities and the relevant embassies and to ensure full recovery of the amount spent on the doctors' studies.
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