Peshawar: The registrar of University of Peshawar (UoP) has been accused of allegedly violating rules to appoint several close relatives in the largest public sector university of the province in recent years.

Shirinzada Khattak claimed that he had never extended any favour to his relatives. He said that his relatives or villagers recruited in the university were appointed on merit. Sources said his wife was recently appointed as teaching assistant at biotechnology department, where she served as lecturer (contractual) from March to June 2009. Subsequently, she resigned and joined the Seerat Studies department as visiting faculty member. She would continue to take Seerat Studies classes while serving as teaching assistant at biotechnology department.

According to sources, the registrar got his sister appointed as nursery teacher at the University Model School despite lacking qualification for the job. However, Mr Khattak insisted that his sister was qualified for the post, adding that her appointment took place in 1998-99 when Sher Bahadur or Shakeel Ahmad was the registrar.

Sources said that the registrar also enabled his cousins, nephews, nieces and other relatives to land jobs of teacher, assistant warden, clerk, attendant, mechanic, etc at the university. When confronted with the facts and told about every such case, Khattak denied that all of them were his relatives. He insisted that these people were appointed on merit. "Whenever any Khattak is recruited in the university, some elements start saying that he or she is my relative," he remarked