Balochistan assembly slams campus harassment scandal

Speaker announces 10-member committee to probe the incident

QUETTA: Treasury and opposition members in the provincial assembly have condemned the alleged blackmailing and harassment of University of Balochistan (UoB) students and demanded a fair inquiry into the incident at a leading educational institution of the province through a parliamentary committee.

Speaker Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, who was presiding over the session, announced a 10-member probe committee comprising members of the assembly and said that the committee will not only probe the issue but also monitor the inquiry conducted by other institutions.

The speaker named 10 members in the parliamentary inquiry committee. They are Sanaullah Baloch, Nasarullah Zerey, Syed Fazal Agha, Syed Ehsan Shah, Shakeela Dehwar, Mah Jabeen Sheran, Mir Saleem Ahmed Khosa, Mir Asadullah Baloch, Danish Kumar and Malik Naeem Bazai.

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Sanaullah Baloch of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) stood up to a point of order when assembly session started and strongly condemned the unpleasant incident of blackmailing and harassment of students at the varsity. He said the University of Balochistan is the oldest and highly prestigious institution of the province. It is the first time that an unethical scandal surfaced to such an extent, he added.

“People of Balochistan are proud of their traditions and tribal values and such kind of incidents have never happened in the province,” Baloch said.

He urged that strict action should be taken against the people involved in such heinous crimes.

“FIR of the incident should be registered immediately. Some powerful elements do not want registration of the case, but from the floor of the House we demand strict and stern action on an immediate basis,” Sanaullah Baloch asserted.

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Nasrullah Zeray of PkMAP also recorded his protest over the scandal and said that the action was totally against the tradition and tribal values of the province. He insisted that a ban on student union in the varsity should also be removed.

Speaking on the occasion, Shakila Naveed Dehwar of BNP-M told the house that situation in the university campus is much tense. She questioned how the trust of the female students of the varsity would be restored after the scandal.

Mir Asad Baloch, Qadir Nayal, Akbar Mengal, Ahmed Nawaz Baloch, Mah Jabeen Sheran, Muhammad Khan Lehri, Danish Kumar, Shaheena Kakar, Malik Sikander and Titus Johnson also expressed their concern over the university scandal and termed it a shameful act.

They said that the people of Balochistan cannot tolerate such things in their educational institutions, where their daughters and sisters are receiving an education.

Balochistan Assembly speaker gave the ruling and ordered constitution of a committee comprising 10 members of the assembly to investigate the harassment scandal.

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Earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal also took notice of the incident involving female students at the varsity and termed the heinous act an unpardonable crime.

Expressing deep concern over the issue, the Balochistan CM said that harassment incident in the province’s biggest university has ruined the sanctity of the varsity. “Our government will not spare the culprits behind this heinous act which is an unpardonable crime,” the chief minister said.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has also commenced investigation against UoB’s surveillance branch following alleged harassment and blackmailing incidents. According to FIA sources, the additional CCTV cameras had been installed at hidden spots of the varsity to capture videos of students.

Chief Minister Jam Kamal has pledged full cooperation with IG Police and FIA officials in the investigation of UoB’s harassment case and directed the authorities to arrest the culprits involved. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2019.