Senate panel seeks report from K-P govt on hiring paedophile

Committee on human asks FIA to explain how Sohail Ayaz got clearance

ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi police on Thursday presented its report on the arrested paedophile Sohail Ayaz to Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights.

The committee expressed surprise that a convicted paedophile was hired by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government as a consultant. Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar chaired the meeting held at the Parliament House.

The committee in its meeting discussed the issue of convicted paedophile Sohail Ayaz who was employed as a consultant by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Rawalpindi division Regional Police Office Ehsan Tufail told the committee that 46 years old chartered accountant, Ayaz, has travelled in nine countries and has been tried and convicted in the United Kingdom and Italy for child abuse and child porn.

The suspect had worked abroad in a child rights group Save the Children, where he developed contacts with the people the organisation was working against. Police have discovered links of the suspect with Romanian child trafficking ring.

In Rawalpindi, Ayaz was arrested for kidnap and rape of a tea selling boy. A case against him was registered against him on November 12 and two more on November 14 when more victims spoke up.

RPO Tufail said Ayaz had targeted children of ages eight to 15 and has admitted to having wronged 30 children. The suspect used to record the assaults and post the footage on dark web.

He said the police department was working on the case meticulously so that no lacuna was left for acquittal.

The committee decided to call representatives of the interior minister and FIA to explain how a man convicted in foreign countries got jobs in Pakistan.

The meeting also sought the CV of Ayaz as well as the advertisement against which he was hired by the K-P government.

PMDC employees

The 250 employees of now dissolved Pakistan Medical and Dental Coucil (PMDC) who were seeking justice for abrupt end of their services will get the promised compensation by December 1.

The PMDC successor Pakistan Medical Council Secretary Dr Arsalan Haider said this in his briefing to the Senate panel on human rights.

Haider said PMC is meeting on November 29 to discuss the fate of the sacked employees. He said that former employees will be given consideration but new rules will guide it.

National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Secretary said the Parliament will decide the fate of the ordinance that dissolved PMDC and formed PMC.

As of now, he said, many of the former employees have gone to the Lahore High Court.

Around 250 employees have been affected by this hasty ordinance and the promised six basic salaries have still not been paid. NHSR&C secretary and PMC secretary said that communication has been done with Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) and the salaries of the said people will be disbursed by December 1.

Edwardes College

The meeting sought briefing from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government on the issue of threats to Edwardes College Peshawar principal.

The principal of the college narrated the incidents in which he and his family received threats at home, at college as well as while travelling.

K-P Additional Chief Secretary Atif Rehman and Peshawar SSP Operations Zahoor Afridi told the committee that all the incidents were triggered by the fact that two parties within the institution were at loggerheads.

The matter was not about the public, private or community owned status of the college but of some steps taken on part of the administration and the principal.

The committee decided to refer the matter to the Leader of the House Senator Shibli Faraz, an alumni of the institution, to reach to an acceptable solution of the problem in a month.

Harassment in UoB

While discussing the incidents of harassment and blackmailing of students by the University of Balochistan (UoB) staff and steps taken so far, the vice chancellor of the university said the next hearing of the investigation being conducted by Federal Investigation Agency has been scheduled for December 2 and further directives can be communicated afterwards.

He also said that during meetings with Frontier Corps IG, they were told that FC will vacate the premises and remove all posts but has not given any time frame for doing the same.

The university is currently in a debt of Rs160 million and it does not have any money to pay salaries and pensions. The committee members were of the view that most of the issues of the university can be attributed to the previous vice chancellor who despite all the problems and allegations was not removed from service but instead transferred to another institution.

The committee was also given a briefing by HEC on the anti-harassment policy framework developed by HEC. The committee asked HEC to present before the committee any correspondence done with BoU in the past on constitution of a harassment committee at the university.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2019.