KARACHI: Karachi University dismissed five employees who failed in their selection board tests, and stopped salaries of 11 others who had been absent without prior intimation for a long time, the KU announced on Monday.

According to sources, the latter step comes in the wake of the pressure the university faces from law enforcement agencies.

A number of KU employees, they said, had been missing from their posts since mid-April when the Pakistan Rangers raided the campus and picked up at least five university employees.

`While two to three staff members are still in the Rangers` custody, there are some who just disappeared and were never seen on the campus after the raid,` said a university official.

The absentee employees whose salaries have been stopped are: Mohammad Atif (enrollment section), Alamgir and Lavi Masih (Institute of Space and Astrophysics), Ghulam Mohiuddin (engineering department), Abdul Haseeb (engineering department), Mahmood Ahmed (protocol and information office), Tabish Sultan (audit office), Syed Wahid Raza (communication department), Arshad Ali Baig (accounts), Kamranuddin (accounts), and Umair Amin (engineering department).

Last month a section of the media reported that the Rangers had sought a record of KU employees who were not attending duties without prior intimation. A July 13 notification issued by the university`s registrar then asked all section heads to submit leave records of their employees calling it as a `directive` from the Pakistan Rangers.

While the move drew the ire of some teaching staff members who took it as a reflection of what they believed was a poorly administered institution, the university maintained that the step was taken under `a general advice of the Rangers given to all public sector institutions.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also raided the campus twice in June, a development described as `surprise visits` by the university administration.

A university press release, however, states that: `All the decisions are taken by the university administration on their own without any external influence or pressure whatsoever. The salaries of some of the employees have been stopped until further notice from the vice chancellor.

Dismissal The five dismissed employees, sources said, were hired on contract in 2009-10. However, since then no selection board had been held to review their appointments.

The employees dismissed from service are: Shehzad Pervez (assistant registrar), Syed Rashid Ali (accounts officer), Azhar Khan (assistant controller), Maqsood-us-Saglain (liaison officer), and Mohammad Zohalb (accounts officer).