LARKANA: The Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) has cancelled promotions and appointments of teaching faculty made in 2015 in its constituent colleges of the Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur, and Bibi Aseefa Dental College, Larkana.

SMBBMU registrar Prof Dr Afsar Bhutto confirmed to Dawn on Thursday that the university had issued a notification a day before in the light of the order passed by Sindh High Court, Sukkur bench, which was upheld by the Supreme Court recently, cancelling the promotions and appointments made on the recommendations of a selection board that met on May 30-31, 2015.Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College principal Prof Ghulam Haider Rind had been deseated under the notification and vice principal Dr Aftab Ahmed Soomro had been made acting principal of the college till further orders, said the registrar.

The notification has affected 36 faculty members of both colleges who had been promoted to the posts of professor, associate professor, assistant professor and senior registrarindifferent departments.

Asked what would be the fate of the affected faculty members, the registrar could not come up with a clear answer and said since the university was working on individual cases, the notification did not address the issue of their future.

The situation arising out of the court order has once again led to shortage of faculty members in theinstitution as the demotion of 36 senior faculty members in one go has created a yawning gap in different departments.

The entire process of promotions and appointments would have tobe repeated again afterreadvertisement of posts, said the registrar.

The situation in the Bibi Aseefa Dental College will become further complicated since the institution is already faced with the issue of recognition by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

SUKKUR: Dr Rind, who was promoted and given additional charge of the Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College principal, had been allowed to work at his previous post of associate professor of surgery after the cancellation of the promotion, according to the notification.