COMSATS University issues a show cause notice stating Rs. 16.8 million penalty against Shahbaz Gill’s Wife

According to media reports, the COMSATS University, Islamabad, has issued a show-cause notice to Izza Asad Rasul, the spouse of former SAPM Shahbaz Gill. In the notice, the institute has asked Izza Asad Rasul to pay back Rs. 16.8 million for breaching scholarship contract terms.

What was the contract about?

Izza Asad Rasul was awarded a scholarship from COMSATS University to pursue an MS leading to Ph.D. studies in Labour and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois, USA. COMSATS and the Ph.D. scholar inked an agreement that stated:

Izza Asad Rasul is bound to complete her Ph.D. degree by 2016 and serve at the university after returning to Pakistan.

According to the show-cause notice, Izza proceeded to the USA to pursue an MS leading to Ph.D. studies on the expenses of the public exchequer in 2011; however, she did not return even after around 11 years.

She further breached the agreement as she failed to complete her Ph.D. degree by the stipulated time frame. In addition, she was also irregular in submitting her academic progress reports negating the mandatory requirement of submitting them every six months.

The show-cause notice read:

This office sent you repeated reminders to submit the progress reports regularly, but you neither responded nor complied. COMSATS released $99,000 and Rs. 86,000 in an account of tuition fees, living allowance, and airfare from the government funds. We request you to pay back the amount incurred on your studies and a 25 percent penalty as per the terms of the agreement. Notably, the cumulative dues (actual amount plus 25 percent penalty) tend to be around Rs. 16.8 million.

Speaking to a media outlet, the university sources said:

Shahbaz Gill kept using his influence on the university to stop action against his wife.

The media channel attempted to converse with Shahbaz Gill on the issue, but he refused to comment. Instead, he took to his Twitter handle to state:

The student received a merit-based scholarship before my government. It was MS leading to the Ph.D. program; the Ph.D. is still underway, which can be confirmed by the university. We will return to Pakistan next year after completing her Ph.D. studies. A smear campaign is being run against me, and the news story is part of it, and I know who is involved.

یہ ماسٹرز لیڈنگ ٹو PhD کا پروگرام ہے جو ابھی جاری ہے،یونیورسٹی سے ایک emailپر کنفرم کیا جا سکتا ہے۔یہ جھوٹ ہے کہ واپس آنے انکار کیا گیا انشاللہ اگلے سا PhD ختم ہو گی تو فورا واپسی ہو جائے گی۔ میرے خلاف مہم چل رہی جس میں یہ خبر بھی اسی کا حصہ اور مجھے پتہ ہے یہ کون کر رہا ہے

— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) May 12, 2022

While the university authorities have an agreement to back up their claims, Shahbaz Gill hasn’t put forward any proof to add credibility to his statement. Only time will tell what actions these people take against each other.

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